Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted joined with Ohio Business Round Table President and CEO Pat Tiberi to address growing needs in the state’s workforce.
According to DeWine, investing in education to build a skilled workforce of Ohioans is critical to continue the economy’s growth and momentum.
DeWine also noted that it’s important for lawmakers in the Ohio State Senate, currently considering the two-year state budget, to invest in K-12 funding, college, and job training opportunities to keep high school graduates in Ohio and train them for jobs in the state.
“Students who attend Ohio colleges and universities tend to find jobs here after graduation and continue contributing to our economy. This is why our executive budget includes incentives to make Ohio colleges and universities the most attractive options for Ohio students,” DeWine said.
The press release from the governor’s office details that more than 64 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients from Ohio public universities still reside and work in the state more than 10 years after receiving their degrees.
“Retention is very important to growing our workforce and currently nearly 14,000 high school grads a year go out of state for college,” the Ohio governor said.
According to Husted, it is critical to encourage high school graduates in the state to remain in Ohio to continue economic momentum.
“We are winning deals and creating jobs faster than we can find people to fill them. It is crucial we support efforts that encourage our best and brightest to stay right here in Ohio, so we can continue the economic momentum happening in our state,” Husted said.
DeWine’s budget proposal includes several incentives to help break down financial barriers for those considering higher education to encourage Ohio students to remain in the state.
The incentives include Ohio College Opportunity Grants that provide need-based scholarships to Ohio students to attend colleges and universities in Ohio, Merit Scholarships to reward students’ exceptional work by providing a $5,000 per year scholarship to every Ohio high school graduate who finished in the top 5 percent of their class if they chose to go to school in Ohio and Choose Ohio First Scholarships that allows Ohio colleges to award more scholarships to students studying STEM fields.
According to Tiberi, there is a huge current and future need for college graduates to work in Ohio’s industries. Supporting retention initiatives is essential to keep Ohio’s economy thriving.
“To compete in a global economy, we must be able to attract and retain the best and brightest talent. That can include career certificates, 2-year degrees, and apprenticeships, however, we must not overlook the importance of 4-year degrees to fill our workforce needs,” Tiberi said.
The new state budget must be adopted before the former budget expires on June 30th.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Mike DeWine” by Mike DeWine. Background Photo “Ohio Statehouse” by â±®. CC BY-SA 4.0.
