The Ohio Workforce Coalition Leadership Committee requests your endorsement of a policy
proposal to create regional industry sector partnerships throughout the state to close skills gaps
in key industries and put Ohioans back to work into well-paying jobs. The Regional Industry
Sector Partnerships Grant Program would fund regional consortia’ of employers, Workforce Investment Boards, chambers of commerce, labor and industry associations, economic development agencies, community colleges, adult education providers, and other partners to provide demand-driven training that addresses acute skills shortages hampering the growth of Ohio’s targeted industries.

Endorse Now! http://www.wsos.org/endorsement/

Moving Ohio Forward

Ohio has made significant job gains since the official end of the 2007-09 recession. Unemployment is down nearly 4% and the state has netted more than 140,000 jobs. Even with these gains though, too many Ohioans, nearly 400,000 in November, are still looking for work.

But for all this good news, employers from across the state report difficulty in finding qualified applicants for open positions, and real median wages continue to fall, dropping more than 45 cents in the last calendar year alone. In 2011, Ohio was tied with Maine for median wages–trailing 28 other states. Ohio employers and workers deserve a better system.

An Opportunity to Invest in Ohio’s Workers and Industries

Ohio should invest in the Ohio Workforce Coalition’s recommendation to fund regional sector partnerships to ensure Ohio’s employers have the skilled worker pipeline they need to compete and grow, and Ohioans have the skills they need for in-demand jobs. The Regional Industry Sector Partnerships Grant Fund ($10 million over the 2014-2015 biennial budget) would support up to 30 industry sector partnerships through a competitive grant process, ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 per year for two years. Funds would support regional consortia in the development and implementation of employer and worker responsive training for priority industries in their regions. In two years, this program would train more than 10,000 Ohioans for in-demand jobs and help at least 750 employers meet their workforce needs. Long term, this program would create regional capacity to efficiently coordinate and target Ohio’s workforce programs to meet the needs of key industries.

Read More – http://ohiowfc.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/ohio-sector-stategy-proposal.pdf

Please Endorse Now! http://www.wsos.org/endorsement/

Thank you for your continued commitment to promoting policies that build the skills of Ohio’s workforce, meet the needs of employers, and strengthen our workforce system.

The governor has named his former Cabinet Secretary, Tracy Intihar, to lead the Office of Workforce Transformation and oversee efforts to better align Ohio’s fragmented workforce training system with the needs of workers and job creators. Tracy has more than 19 years of Ohio public policy experience, having served in senior positions for two Speakers of the Ohio House as well as managing her own policy consulting business.

Tracy will work closely with the newly-appointed members of the Governor’s Executive Workforce Advisory Board, with whom the governor met last week for the group’s inaugural meeting. Chaired by central Ohio business leader Blane Walter, the 26-member Board is comprised of knowledgeable leaders from business, community organization and education who will serve as active counselors to the governor and his team, as well as ambassadors. At the meeting, the board developed an action plan that included opening formal communication between the Board and the 20 Local Workforce Investment Board Chairs; establishing a statewide rebranding effort for all One-Stop offices consistent with the OhioMeansJobs brand; developing a consistent, system-wide policy for Individual Training Accounts; and, advancing a plan to use OhioMeansJobs as Ohio’s job-matching tool.

Among the objectives that the governor will continue to pursue through the leadership of the Board and Tracy are:

* Streamlining and improving coordination of Ohio’s current
fragmented workforce development system in which 90 programs across 13 agencies to better focus limited resources on the strategies that provide the greatest possible economic opportunities to Ohioans; * Creating performance measures and a data collection system to ensure program effectiveness;
* Working with job creators to determine what skills and workers they need to ensure that training programs exist across the full spectrum of Ohio’s education system to meet those needs.
* Connecting workforce with the education community is also a priority. Not only will our education programs be critical in training the workforce, but by implementing a new focus on Career Connections, K-12 schools can help students understand the opportunities ahead and how to achieve them.

A quality workforce is critical to job growth and the success of Ohio. As a stakeholder and partner in Ohio’s workforce development efforts, understanding your needs, ideas and feedback are critical to Ohio’s efforts to successfully transforming its workforce development program from one of paralysis and stagnation into one that effectively meets the needs of workers and job creators. With your support, Tracy’s strong and accomplished background will provide the leadership necessary to make Ohio a national leader in innovative, effective and efficient workforce training. The governor appreciates the important role you play in this work.

Utica Shale Workforce Development Summit Convenes In Zanesville Monday, December 3rd, 2012 – Energy In Depth, the Ohio Project

Last week, the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies hosted a Utica Shale Workforce Development Summit to help communities prepare their workforce for the expanding oil and natural gas industry. The Summit was organized by former Congressman Zack Space, and brought together elected officials, educational institutions, economic development specialists,
county agencies and industry to craft a blueprint for
collaborative-community efforts as the Utica Shale begins to expand in scope, and in opportunity.

The event, held at Ohio University’s and Zane State College’s Student Center in Zanesville, drew nearly 100 attendees, and was the first-of-its-kind planning session for the area. It brought together leaders and experts on a variety of different facets to help provide guidance as to how best approach the new, exciting opportunities coming forward as we begin to increase the state’s shale development. Each table was evenly divided with representatives from different backgrounds in order to best approach growing areas of interests and concerns with developing our communities and workforce.

Before each table could begin the process of identifying the best strategies for eastern Ohio to move forward, the attendees were treated with presentations from Charlie Dixon of Ohio Oil and Gas Energy and Education Program (OOGEEP), Dave Mustine of JobsOhio and David Wilhelm, founder of Ohio Appalachia Business Council. Each presenter gave their outlook and
interpretation of the importance of the Utica Shale to the region.

Charlie Dixon provided the audience with an overview of the oil and gas industry in Ohio, while detailing the impressive work the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program has done over the years in helping educate and provide expertise in developing programs that will ensure Ohioans are ready to for the new jobs created by Ohio’s oil and gas industry.

One stunning number that Mr. Dixon pointed out is the numbers of diesel mechanics positions that are currently open within a 200 mile radius of Zanesville.

“I went online this morning to tidy up my presentation. 156 positions open within a 200 mile radius for diesel mechanics that is out there today”.- Charlie Dixon

That statement really got people in the crowd thinking about the magnitude of shale development – and the opportunities that it presents.

Following Mr. Dixon’s insightful presentation, David Mustine, JobsOhio Managing Director specializing in the energy, chemicals and polymer sectors, provided the audience a Utica Shale update happening around Ohio. Mr. Mustine has an extensive background in the energy industry including 16 years with American Electric Power and 10 years in the oil and gas industry.
During his presentation Mr. Mustine pointed out to the crowd that the Utica now has as much activity as our counterparts in West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania.

“According to Baker Hughes, we have 26 triple stacked rigs operating in the state. I’ve noted that now we’re kind of caught up with West Virginia and a couple weeks ago we had one more then they did and I think that pretty significant that we are getting to that level”.- David Mustine, JobsOhio

Mr. Mustine is correct that Ohio is now getting to that level. In over the past year, Ohio’s rig count has doubled showing the increasing interest in the Utica. Mr. Mustine continued to provide a promising update which noted the continuous investments midstream and downstream companies continue to make in Eastern Ohio.

Following Mr. Mustine, David Wilhelm gave the audience some items to think about as they were about to gather in their groups and brainstorm about the future. Mr. Wilhelm gave the audience a history lesson about eastern Ohio’s industries that made us into what we are today like pottery, coal and steel. But he also pointed out their faults and how this time we can get it right with shale development.

“So here we have a new opportunity in the history of this region, brought about by the extraordinary discovery of Utica Shale deposits. There is nobody that is a bigger asset-based economic development person than myself. I believe in asset-based economic development. I believe in building on your own indigenous resources, your own indigenous talents. And one of the assets we have to build on, god bless us, is this extraordinary oil and gas resource”. – David Wilhelm

Mr. Wilhelm provided a great message to the attendees before breaking out to their brainstorming session; Eastern Ohio needs to take this great opportunity and use it to their best advantage, whether it be used to attract chemical and plastic manufactures thanks to the feedstock provided by the liquids rich component of the Utica Shale, or investing the revenue communities gain from development into much needed infrastructure to attract new businesses.

“Eastern Ohio has a chance to get it right”.

After the presenters finished educating the audience, it was the audience’s turn to take what they learned and work to provide a template that can help shape eastern Ohio’s approach to properly developing our workforce and communities. Each table was given a set of note cards and was asked to address significant opportunities and issues opportunities. Following the acknowledgment of such topics, each group was then asked to help provide a solution to each of these topics until each table had their own separate ideas mapped out for the moderators.

After a full afternoon of brainstorming and problem solving, each group presented their board of findings to the moderator who will compile the data and distribute it back to the group in a couple of months. This data will provide the beginnings of a plan that will help provide eastern Ohio communities with a roadmap for the workforce and community development needs.

Once this is made available, the summit will reconvene and continue to tackle this opportunities and issues head on.

Congressman Space and the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies should be recognized and applauded for their efforts to help eastern Ohio prepare for future shale development. As the summit progresses and guidelines are prepared, communities and educational programs will be poised and focused on the proper way to embrace the new opportunities provided to the region.

This OEDA award recognizes unique approaches to any aspect of workforce development and recognizes a person or organization that has developed innovative practices and programs. It was awarded on Thursday, October 25, at an awards luncheon, in conjunction with OEDA’s annual summit held in Columbus, Ohio.

With support from the federal Social Innovation Fund (SIF), WorkAdvance is a model being replicated at four sites across the country to train, place and help boost earnings of low-wage and unemployed adults in the growing fields of healthcare and manufacturing with room for career advancement. Towards Employment is the lead agency to implement WorkAdvance in Northeast Ohio and is working with Compass Family & Community Services to deliver the program in Youngstown, with significant regional investments from the Fund For Our Economic Future. Towards Employment has built a network of partners to provide dual economic benefits—helping individuals compete for, retain and advance in middle skill jobs, while at the same time providing employers with screened and qualified workers. WorkAdvance collaborates with employer partners to inform curriculum and suggest preferred training sources and provides services which include: contextualized job-readiness and literacy training, career coaching, technical skill training and credentials, and ongoing case management support.

Since the program’s inception in 2010, WorkAdvance has enrolled nearly 145 Northeast Ohioans in technical skills training such as machining, welding, medical office foundations, and State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) PLUS. Over 90 participants are working with an average starting wage of nearly $10 an hour. “WorkAdvance offers a continuum of services that are uniquely packaged and responsive to the skills training needs of local employers,” said Rebecca Kusner, director, WorkAdvance, “By customizing our services we are able to best respond to both participant and employer demand.”
Training partners include: Choffin Career & Technical Center, Cleveland Industrial Training Center, Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, Lincoln Electric School of Welding, Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, Trumbull Career and Technical Center, and three community
colleges—Cuyahoga Community College, Lakeland Community College and Lorain Community College.

WorkAdvance is one of five promising anti-poverty programs being replicated in New York City and seven partner cities, as part of the SIF grant awarded to The Mayor’s Center for Economic Opportunity and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC. Announced by the White House in 2010, the SIF is a public-private partnership administered by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service that is designed to scale-up effective programs.

WorkAdvance builds on evidence from successful workforce programs piloted in New York and other cities. This rigorously evaluated program will contribute to a developing body of evidence for systems change so that lessons learned can benefit more people and industries. The bottom line is that WorkAdvance is testing a formula for building talent pipelines for employers—demonstrating that low-income job seekers can be a good source of labor with the proper investments and training, as well as looking at how to change the way we leverage existing services and funding to better support job seekers and employers.

Partners helping to make this model a success include: Employment Connection, Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET), Mahoning Columbiana Training Association, NEO HealthForce, Northeast Ohio Health Science & Innovation Coalition (NOHSIC), The Business Resource Network, The Center for Health Affairs, The Centers For Families and Children, The Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland, and WIRE-Net. The program is accepting enrollees: contact 216-696-7311,
ccinfo@waneo.org, http://www.waneo.org. Employers interested to partner with Work Advance: contact Rebecca Kusner, 216-696-5750 ext. 230.

About Towards Employment
Since 1976, Towards Employment, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency through employment, has served more than 120,000 low-income and disadvantaged adults in Greater Cleveland—to help them prepare for jobs, get jobs, keep jobs and ascend the career ladder. Through holistic programming and strong employer partnerships Towards Employment builds individual skills and confidence, removes barriers to employment and helps individuals meet employers’ workforce needs. http://www.towardsemployment.org,
216-696-5750

The National Skills Coalition advocates on public policies according to a set of jointly-held priorities developed across the Coalition’s multi-stakeholder membership of community-based organizations, community colleges, labor unions and affiliates, employers and business associations, and representatives of state / local workforce and higher education systems.

In 2009, to ensure the Coalition’s positions and strategies remained consistent with the perspectives across its diverse network, NSC’s Board of Directors created a rotating Leadership Council of the organization’s most active members to serve as the programmatic advisory body to NSC’s staff and board. The Council continues to vet new policy positions taken by the Coalition, and helps to lead the organizing, communications and advocacy strategies developed to advance that agenda. The Council also helps the staff and board think about how to grow the presence and effectiveness of the National Skills Coalition at both the state and federal levels.

The Leadership Council is a rotating body of approximately 60 leaders, representing workforce and education stakeholder groups from states throughout the country, who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to NSC’s skills agenda. The Council serves as:
● A sounding board for policy positions and organizing strategies taken on by NSC at both the federal and state levels;
● An advisory body for NSC’s Board of Directors, which has been charged with ensuring that NSC’s day‐to‐day work is consistent with its
founding mission; and
● A leadership development opportunity for standout NSC members who have not had a chance to weigh in on the Coalition’s work and direction as an organization.

Congratulations to Ross and Kerrie!
For more information on the National Skills Coalition and to become a supporting member, please visit http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org

It is with great pleasure to introduce Ms. Kelly Kupcak as the newest Ohio Workforce Coalition, Leadership Committee member.
Kelly Kupcak currently serves as the Workforce Program Manager for the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development where her work is focused on ensuring high-road workforce practices in the energy efficiency sector. In addition to her work in the nonprofit sector Ms. Kupcak is the President and Owner of KMK Consulting and a principal at APB & Associates, Inc. where she serves in the capacity of the Director of Workforce Diversity. Ms. Kupcak has extensive experience in project development and management, with a focus on diversity and inclusion efforts in the construction sector in Ohio. While primarily working with nonprofit and government partners, Ms. Kupcak also has experience with the private sector in project development, management and research as well. Clients include the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor-Management Councils, City Governments, and a wide-range of nonprofit organizations and registered trade apprenticeship programs. With over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Ms. Kupcak worked in the public policy arena impacting both legislative efforts and agency regulations which effected issues ranging from compliance, workforce utilization, apprenticeship regulations, anti-discrimination, nontraditional training, workforce development and pay equity in nontraditional workforce.

Ms. Kupcak provided project management for the diversity program of a multi-billon dollar, multi-year school construction project for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District where she was able to promote systems-change initiatives and create a toolkit for contractors to support workforce diversity. Having provided consulting for numerous entities on issues of workforce diversity and economic inclusion, Ms. Kupcak has been instrumental in impacting successful project outcomes. In 2007, Ms. Kupcak was
recognized by the Washington, D.C.-based national progressive think-tank, The Mobility Project for her work
in engaging a multi-stakeholder initiative to address disparities in construction workforces and subcontracting on public works projects in her community through Community Benefits Agreements.

Ms. Kupcak is dedicated to improving her community at the local level as well as through service in state and national volunteer efforts as well. Ms. Kupcak serves on several boards and advisory committees including the National Skills Coalition Advisory Council (2010 – 2011), Emerald Cities (Cleveland) Executive Committee (2010 – 2012), the Mayor’s Retrofit Work Group (Cleveland), Constructing Futures Roundtable, and the Ohio Apollo Alliance Steering Committee. Ms. Kupcak is a 2007 graduate of the inaugural class of the Mandel Neighborhood Leadership Development Program (NLDP) at Case Western Reserve University and 2008 National Women’s Law Center Progressive Leadership & Advocacy Fellowship. Ms. Kupcak was a 2011 Ohio Political Leaders Fellow at the Center for Progressive Leadership.

Advocates for Ohio”s Future is hosting a webinar about the federal fiscal situation and what is at stake nationally and in Ohio. The webinar is on Thursday, October 18th from 3 – 4 p.m.
Presenters include: Ellen Nisenbaum – Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Debbie Weinstein – Coalition on Human Needs, and Wendy Patton – Policy Matters Ohio.
Register for the training here: http://www.anymeeting.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=E157DB868247

The Columbus Dispatch
Thursday September 27, 2012 5:56 AM

State officials are assembling a work-force forecast for southwestern Ohio as part of a soon-to-be-statewide program that will help determine where employee shortages are and what skills workers need to land the positions.

Gov. John Kasich wants to link education and training programs to businesses in the state, and this program is a step in that direction. Those involved in the project are distributing a survey to about 25 companies near Cincinnati asking what jobs might be available several years from now and what skills those workers probably will need.

The testing period for the system should be completed this year, said Rich Frederick, the executive director of the governor’s Office of Transformation.

“We want to have it right,” Frederick said. “It needs to be able to work before we can be able to deploy it statewide.”

Cincinnati’s chamber of commerce came up with a list of industry sectors to survey for the program, including manufacturing, health care and information technology, Frederick said.

“Some of them aren’t going to need a four-year or two-year degree,” he said. “It’s going to be a mix of skilled-certificate training and four-year degrees.”

Businesses that require applicants to have degrees can team up with universities to discuss what their curriculum should look like.

“I hope (this program) helps educate students and university guidance officials and curriculum developers in terms of what the skills are and what the job openings are going to be in the future,” said Bruce Johnson, the president of the Inter-University Council of Ohio.

Companies sometimes struggle to find workers with the right set of skills to fit a job, said Richard A. Stoff, the president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable.

Stoff said the program will operate as an “information exchange” that will unite job producers and job trainers to line up demand with supply.

“The governor talks with business leaders across the state, and we tell him that we can’t find the talent to meet our needs,” Stoff said. “We have 100,000 unfilled jobs in this state, half of which require a college degree or some form of certificatory training.”

The program also could help recruit high-school students for promising careers, Frederick said. “We can say, ‘Here are the jobs that are available, here’s where they’re going to be years down the road.’ … It takes time to train and educate someone. If we have benchmarks down the road, we can get someone trained in time for a job that is expected to be there.”

Pamela Engel is a fellow in Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Statehouse News Bureau.

One of Gov. John Kasich’s signature economic development initiatives is finally shaping up and the administration hopes to soon make up to $500,000 available to offset employers’ costs to retrain their workers.

The administration has been circulating a draft outline of the Incumbent Workforce Training Voucher Program to several industry groups that fleshes out the new initiative that Gov. Kasich first pitched during his 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

The General Assembly appropriated $50 million of the state’s $200 million in casino licensing fee revenue for the program in the biennial budget (HB 153). However, the $20 million for fiscal year 2012 has gone unspent, leaving $30 million for FY 2013.

The program marks a departure from Ohio’s traditional approach to workforce development – something that has drawn some criticism from Democrats who question why state job training funds should go to people who have jobs when the unemployment rate is still quite high. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, July 8, 2012)

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said the governor believed state workforce training benefits should be available to a broader swath of Ohioans to help them advance in their careers.

“You shouldn’t have to lose your job in order to move up the ladder. That’s the way these programs have been targeted in the past – you had to be unemployed to get any job training,” he said. “We think it’s very important in the greater picture of workforce development.”

Implementing the program has taken more than a year because it entails creation of a whole new initiative, he said. “It’s a big lift. It’s not been done here.”

The administration is close to rolling out the program, Mr. Nichols said. “It’s subject to change but we think we’re in the final stages of it.”

The budget authorized the Department of Development, now the Development Services Agency, to enter into an agreement with the privatized JobsOhio entity to run the program, but Mr. Nichols said the administration decided that DSA would operate it.

Although the program was originally conceived to offer companies a payment voucher, the administration is now planning to offer a reimbursable grant, according to information from the consulting firm GBQ Partners.

The program is expected to provide up to $500,000 per eligible company in one of nine targeted industries: advanced manufacturing; aerospace and aviation; automotive; biohealth; corporate headquarters; energy; financial services; food processing; information technology; and polymers and chemicals.

It will likely offer $4,000 per employee to reimburse up to 50% of training costs for for-profit companies with a facility located in Ohio.

Workers employed in a retail or service position will not be eligible for the voucher program, according to the administration’s draft outline.

Reimbursable activities include: classes at an accredited education institution; training related to the purchase of a new piece of equipment, an industry recognized certificate, or from trade association; and upgrading computer skills.

The voucher program will likely not cover any training that is already being reimbursed by another program or classes that are required for continued professional certification, the draft says. In addition, “soft skills,” like diversity, ethics, management and leadership, and sexual harassment, training will not be eligible.

The administration also plans to make GED classes, profit-oriented courses, like sales, marketing research, Dale Carnegie trainings, conference fees, and travel costs ineligible for the program. Trainees’ wages would also not be reimbursable.

Rep. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) said Democrats had considered a similar idea from businesses when she chaired the House Economic Development Committee last session.

“I thought it was definitely an idea worth looking at. Some of the concerns many businesses had was that they did not have funds to train people on some of the new technologies that companies were using in order to take their business to another level,” she said in an interview.

“But the concern was that while we’re giving a lot of funds to businesses who already have employees and already making money, we are still leaving out those people who might need additional training who are unemployed, people who were let go from jobs and need training just to get a job,” she said.

The administration’s plan to offer companies up to $500,000 for training costs seems overly generous, Rep. Williams said. “If we’re talking about half a million dollars per company – I think that’s a little steep when there are so many people out here who are still unemployed and don’t have training.”

Ohio Incumbent Worker Training Voucher Program

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY:
To be eligible for financial assistance, the following requirements must be met by both the employer and employee.

EMPLOYER ELIGIBILITY – an eligible employer must operate as a for-profit entity in a state-designated targeted industry with a facility located in Ohio that has been in continuous operation for the 12 months immediately prior to the application submittal.

Targeted industries

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Aerospace and Aviation
• Automotive
• BioHealth
• Corporate Headquarters
• Energy
• Financial Services
• Food Processing
• Information Technology and Services
• Polymers and Chemicals

EMPLOYER ELIGIBILITY – an eligible employee is someone who is directly employed by the company at a facility located within Ohio and meets all of the following requirements:

• Employed in any of the following business functions: production, back office operations, information technology, logistics, or research and development.
• Earning an hourly wage of at least 150 percent of the federal minimum wage ($10.88 as of January 1, 2012) plus benefits;
• An Ohio resident;
• At least 18 years of age; and
• Working at least 25 hours per week.

Note: an employee who is employed in a retail/service function is not eligible for the voucher program.

Eligible training activities include:

• Classes, either non-credit or credit, at an accredited education institution;
• Training that leads to an industry recognized certificate;
• Training provided in conjunction with the purchase of a new piece of equipment;
• Upgrade of computer skills (e.g. Excel, Access);
• Training for the ICD-10-CM/PCS diagnostics classification system (regardless of whether the employee works for a for-profit or non-profit employer);
• Training from a national, regional, or state trade association that offers an independently certified training curriculum and testing; and
• Training for improved process efficiency (e.g. ISO-9000, Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing).

Ineligible training activities include (but are not limited to):

• Training that is already being reimbursed by another State or Federal training program (e.g. Ohio Workforce Guarantee, National Emergency Grant, etc.);
• Continuing Education Units (CEUs) required for continued professional certification;
• Soft Skills (e.g. diversity, ethics, HR law, management and leadership, sexual harassment, etc.);
• Training which is reimbursed/required by other public agencies or departments (e.g. OSHA, Worker’s Compensation);
• General Equivalency Diploma (GED);
• Profit-oriented courses (e.g. sales, marketing research, and Dale Carnegie trainings);
• Conference fees;
• Wages of trainees while being trained; and
• Travel costs.

Application Requirements:

• Company Information: Company Legal Name, Address, FTI#, NAICS Code, Industry Type, Description of Business, Date of Establishment in Ohio, Number of Employees in Ohio, and Company Contact Information.
• Employee/Trainee Information: Employee Name, SSN (will be encrypted via our IT office), Date of Birth, Work Address, Ohio Resident Requirement (Yes/No), Work Function (Back Office, IT, Logistics, Production, Research & Development), and Hourly Wage Rate.
• Training: Name and Address of Training Provider(s), Course Title, Course Description, Training Start and End Dates, Training Will Result In (Certificate of Completion, College Credit, Industry Recognized Certificate, Other, Systems Certification), Training Outcomes for Company (Secure a New Contract, New Domestic Market, Expansion of an Existing Client Base, New Export Market, New Business Partnership), and Training Costs Per Employee.
• Training Summary: Training Outcome for the Employee (New Skill for Current Position, Training for Career Advancement, Skill Modernization, Training for a New Position/Promotion) – Please note that if you have assigned an employee to more than one course, you will have to repeat this process for each course they are assigned

Shannon Vanderpool
Business Services Coordinator
(614) 644-8560
Shannon.Vanderpool@development.ohio.gov

COLUMBUS – Gov. John R. Kasich today announced the members of the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board, taking another significant step to reform Ohio’s broken workforce development system. A policy priority since running for office, Gov. Kasich firmly believes that Ohio’s economic future is dependent upon a strong workforce and continues to champion reforms that will help Ohioans get the training they need to get back to work.  

In February 2012, Gov. Kasich created the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and strengthened the role of the Executive Workforce Board via Executive Order 2012-02K. The Board will advise the Governor and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation on the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Ohio’s entire workforce system, including recommendations on how best to streamline the 77 existing workforce programs currently scattered across 13 state agencies.

The majority of the Board directly represents private-industry business, but also included on the Board are representatives from the Ohio General Assembly, local government, a state agency, labor, and higher education. The Board will be chaired by Blane Walter, CEO of InChord Communications. The appointments to the Board are effective immediately and will serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Board members include the Governor and the following:

R. Blane Walter of Columbus (Franklin Co.) will serve as chairman of the board and a representative of the business community. Walter is the founder and CEO of InChord Communications, the largest independently-owned, healthcare communications company in the world.

Ralf Bronnenmeier of Findlay (Hancock Co.) will serve as a representative of the manufacturing industry. Bronnenmeier is currently CEO of Grob Systems in Bluffton.

Roy A. Church of Lorain (Lorain Co.) will serve as a representative of community colleges. Church has served as the President of Lorain County Community College since 1987.

Michael B. Colbert of Xenia (Greene Co.) will serve as a representative of the state workforce development agencies. Colbert is director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), and is responsible for supervising many state programs, including public assistance, workforce development, unemployment compensation, and several others.

Janet Creighton of Canton (Stark Co.) will serve as a representative of local governments. Creighton is a Stark County Commissioner.

Dennis Franks of Stoutsville (Fairfield Co.) will serve as a representative of career technical schools. Franks is the superintendent of Pickaway Ross Career and Technology Center, where he has worked for 23 years.

Vicki Giambrone of Beavercreek (Greene Co.) will serve as a representative of local governments. Giambrone is the mayor of Beavercreek.

Mitchell P. Grindley of Westerville (Franklin Co.) will serve as a representative of the manufacturing industry. Grindley currently serves as vice president of sales and marketing at Plaskolite in Columbus and is a member of the company’s board of directors.

Amanda Hoyt of Columbus (Franklin Co.) will serve as a representative of small businesses. Hoyt is the Director of Public Affairs for Finance Fund, a statewide non-profit financial intermediary committed to bridging resources with low to moderate income communities.

Julie S. Janson of Cincinnati (Hamilton Co.) will serve as a representative of the energy industry. Janson is president of Duke Energy’s utility operations in Ohio and Kentucky, serving approximately 1 million gas and electric customers in southwest Ohio and approximately 230,000 customers in six northern Kentucky counties.

David L. Joyce of Cincinnati (Hamilton Co.) will serve as a representative of the aviation manufacturing industry. Joyce is president and CEO of GE Aviation, one of the fastest-growing divisions of the General Electric Company.

John Komor of Jackson (Jackson Co.) will serve as a representative of the food industry. Komor is the plant manager of the General Mills plant in Wellston, Ohio, where he oversees 1,200 employees and provides coordination and direction for overall plant operations.

Dennis A. Nash of North Canton (Stark Co.) will serve as a representative of the distribution and logistics industry. Nash is CEO and director of Kenan Advantage Group (KAG), North America’s largest tank truck transporter and logistics provider.

Phillip L. Parker of Dayton (Montgomery Co.) will serve as a representative of the business community. Parker is the president and CEO of the 104-year old and nearly 3,000-member regional business trade association, the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Albert B. Ratner of Cleveland (Cuyahoga Co.) will serve as a representative of the real estate industry. Ratner is co-chairman emeritus of the board of Forest City Enterprises, Inc., and has been in the commercial and residential real estate industry with Forest City since 1951.

Doug Reffitt of Galloway (Franklin Co.) will serve as a representative of labor. Reffitt currently serves as Director of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters.

Pat Sink of Cleveland (Cuyahoga Co.) will serve as a representative of labor. Sink is the business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 18.

Richard A. Stoff of Bexley (Franklin Co.) will serve as a representative of the business community. Stoff is the founding president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable (BRT), a partnership of chief executive officers of Ohio’s largest businesses.

Gary S. Weinstein of Greenwich, CT will serve as a representative of the finance industry. Weinstein is COO of Providence Equity Partners where he is responsible for human resources, finance, investor relations, compliance and information technology.

David Whitehead of Solon (Cuyahoga Co.) will serve as a representative of the energy industry. Whitehead is the former Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief Ethics Officer of FirstEnergy and currently serves as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cuyahoga Community College.

Thomas F. Zenty III of Cleveland (Cuyahoga Co.) will serve as a representative of the biohealth industry. Zenty is the CEO of University Hospitals, a comprehensive health system with $2 billion in annual revenues and comprised of seven owned and two joint-venture medical centers.

In addition to those listed above, the Ohio General Assembly has four representatives on the Board who are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate:

John E. Barnes, Jr. of Cleveland (Cuyahoga Co.) will serve as an Ohio House of Representatives-appointed member of the board. Barnes has focused his career on job creation, economic development, and international business, where he has traveled all over the world in order to work with public and private entities to increase capitalistic efforts.

Bill Beagle of Tipp City (Miami Co.) will serve as an Ohio Senate-appointed member of the board. Beagle and his wife, Karen, own and operate a small business.

Tim Derickson of Oxford (Butler Co.) will serve as an Ohio House of Representatives-appointed member of the board. Derickson is a small business owner in his home district.

Lou Gentile of Steubenville (Jefferson Co.) will serve as an Ohio Senate-appointed member of the board. Gentile has spent his career advocating for the people of Appalachia, promoting workforce development programs, the expansion of broadband service and advanced energy projects throughout the region.