Ohio allies testify before State House Committee.

NSC Members in Ohio Lay out Skills Strategy before State House Study Committee

Bobbie Garber , NSC Leadership Council Member and convener of the Ohio Workforce Coalition, recently testified before the Ohio House of Representatives Study Committee on Workforce Development on the policies state lawmakers must adopt to meet the growing skill needs of employers and demand for skills training among Ohioans.

The study committee is a bipartisan effort to gather information on strategies needed to make Ohio a national leader in building an educated and skilled workforce. The committee is holding hearings around the state throughout the month of September, and plans to release a report on its findings later this year. Ms. Garber offered testimony at the first hearing, during which she discussed practical, nuts-in-bolts policies that Ohio can institute to raise the skills of its workforce. That is, expand sector or industry partnerships, invest in contextualized skills training programs for low-skill learners, and appoint a lead workforce official to coordinate workforce development programs and services across state agencies. You can read the full testimony here.

These hearings represent yet another positive step that Ohio policymakers have taken to train up its workforce. Just a few months ago, Governor Kasich signed the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 State Budget in law, which included $20 million in state general revenue to fund a new incumbent working training program. The Ohio Workforce Coalition submitted these recommendations for implementation ahead of the program’s launch.

For more information on the Ohio Workforce Coalition, click here.