February 15, 2010 01:02 PM Eastern Time
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- BioOhio and partners have been awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S.
Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration to implement
the Ohio Bioscience Industry Workforce Preparedness project.
"Ohio is becoming the ideal location for getting biomedical products to
market"
The three-year project will provide training to 660 displaced or
underemployed workers in declining industries to become better equipped
for careers in Ohio's growing biomedical industry. In addition, 40
incumbent workers will receive more advanced training to move into
higher level jobs, creating new entry level job opportunities for
unemployed adults.
Partners in the statewide project consortium include Cincinnati State
Technical and Community College, Columbus State Community College,
Cuyahoga Community College, Lakeland Community College, Owens Community
College, and Sinclair Community College, with strong support from the
Ohio Board of Regents. More than half of the funding, $2,812,500, will
be designated for tuition reimbursement and trainee scholarships.
"The bioscience industry continues to grow and will be a key component
of our economic recovery," said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. "These funds
will allow BioOhio to continue to transform the workforce development
system for this emerging industry and create new jobs for Ohioans. A
skilled workforce is a critical component of economic development and
job creation."
"Bioscience's emergence as a key growth industry in Ohio can only be
maintained with an abundance of well qualified workers," BioOhio
President and CEO Tony Dennis said. "This project enables BioOhio and
its community college partners to accelerate the growth of high paying
bioscience jobs by producing well qualified workers."
Project activity will focus on four regions in Ohio, which include five
mixed urban/suburban metropolitan areas: Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Columbus, Dayton and Toledo. In each region, consortium colleges will
serve as the regional project leaders, heading up a team of employers,
workforce agencies, labor groups, and community partners. CAEL (The
Council for Adult & Experiential Learning), a national non-profit
organization focused on workforce development and adult learning, will
serve a technical assistance role.
Each regional team, with guidance from BioOhio, will refine recruitment,
assessment, support, placement and retention strategies to ensure
trainee success. Most of the training within the project will provide
participants with an industry recognized credential. Participants who
enroll in training activities which don't result in a credential will
receive course credits.
Eleven biomedical employers have formally committed to partnering on the
project, with additions possible in the coming months.
-
NE Ohio: Ben Venue Laboratories, STERIS, Affymetrix
-
Central Ohio: Roxane, PharmaForce, International Specialty Products
-
Southwest Ohio: Amylin, Alkermes, Eurand, IMDS
-
Northwest Ohio: NAMSA.
These employers will play a critical role in helping develop more
completely articulated industry career pathways and ensuring that the
knowledge and skills needed to perform successfully in their industry
are adequately addressed. They also have pledged to consider qualified
applicants who complete project training programs for openings in their
organizations.
"Ohio is becoming the ideal location for getting biomedical products to
market," said BioOhio Senior Director of Workforce Bill Tacon. "Workers
completing this training will directly contribute to Ohio's strengths,
especially in manufacturing and testing."
The Ohio Department of Development's Regional Workforce Development
Directors and Business Service Representatives will promote the new
program to displaced workers and encourage bioscience employers to draw
their emerging workforce from this labor pool.
"The award of this grant not only confirms the importance of the
Bioscience sector in Ohio," commented Cuyahoga Community College's John
Gajewski, "it also provides the support to develop the human resources
needed to grow the sector in our state."
For more information, contact BioOhio's Bill Tacon, 614/675-3686, x1265,
or btacon@bioohio.com.
-
Partner (primary) contacts:
-
Columbus State CC: Cheryl Hay, Administrator, Business & Industry
Training Department, chay3@CSCC.edu,
(614) 287-2415
-
Lakeland CC: Joe Deak, Director, Bioscience Technology, jdeak@lakelandcc.edu,
(440) 525-7466
-
Cuyahoga CC: John Gajewski, Executive Director, Manufacturing &
Technology, john.gajewski@tri-c.edu,
(216) 987-3048
-
Owens CC: Mark Durivage, Dean, School of Technology, Mark_Durivage@owens.edu,
(567) 661-7455
-
Cincinnati State: Dennis Ulrich, Executive Director, Workforce
Development Center, 513-569-1414
-
Sinclair CC: Brenda LaTanza, Manager, Public
Workforce Initiatives, (937) 512-3051
-
AFL-CIO: Tina Kavanaugh, Rapid Response Field Representative,
614-223-1047
-
CAEL: Joel Simon, Associate Vice President for Government
Services, (312) 499-2678
-
ODOD: Mary Benedict, Region 4 Workforce Development Director,
(937) 285-6191
BioOhio (formerly Omeris) is a non-profit organization supported by
the Thomas Edison Program of the Ohio Department of Development. Its
mission is to accelerate bioscience discovery, innovation and
commercialization of global value, driving economic growth, and
improving quality of life in Ohio. BioOhio is headquartered in Columbus,
with regional business development affiliates in Cleveland, Columbus,
Cincinnati and Athens.