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On December 15 in Columbus Ohio state leaders held a press conference unveiling a new data tool that will provide employers and state policymakers with better information about the supply of education and training in Ohio. Legislators and agency heads from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and the Department of Job and Family Services, joined by National Skills Coalition State Policy Director Bryan Wilson, gathered for a live demonstration of the tool.
The Workforce Supply Tool, was made possible by the NSC State Workforce and Education Alignment Project (SWEAP), with the financial support of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation and USA Funds.
“Our universities and particularly our community colleges, are eager to provide real-time access to data about new graduates coming into the workforce,” said John Carey, Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education. “This tool reflects the number one need of Ohio’s businesses and that is finding the talent they need to grow and prosper,” said Ryan Burgess, Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation. Senator Bill Beagle and Representative Bill Reineke talked about the critical importance of a skilled workforce and their appreciation of better data. Bryan Wilson commented, “Ohio has built a state-of-the-art tool that will aid business and economic development leaders grow jobs in the state and help higher education leaders better align education and training with employer skill needs.”
The Workforce Supply Tool shows the number of graduates by occupation, with breakdowns by regions, levels of education, and institutions. The tool, which currently includes 20 in-demand occupations, will be expanded early next year to include 200 individual occupations and will be linked with demand information to enable comparisons between employer demand and the supply of trained and educated workers.
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