Cincinnati State, partners win $19.6 million health training grant

Cincinnati State learned Monday that it will be the lead partner with nine other community colleges across the country in a $19.6 million federal workforce training grant that targets the health professions. The grant was announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Labor, as part of a $500 million round of workforce training awards to community colleges by the Obama administration.

“This award is a wonderful testament to the great work already being done by our college and will be a great help in achieving my first priority, to enhance our student success,’’ said Cincinnati State President O’dell M. Owens. “My plan for every student coming to Cincinnati State is that he or she will leave with at least one credential and the 21st Century skills wanted by employers locally, and nationally.”

Part of the impetus for the Cincinnati State grant came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as a result of its research into a pioneering health workforce training program launched in Cincinnati. That program, known as the Health Careers Collaborative, has seen Cincinnati State, hospitals and other organizations in the area work together to help individuals get the training they need to land jobs or improve their chances for promotion if they already have jobs. For more information, click here.

Partners' Executive Director Profiled in Business Courier

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Partners' Janice Urbanik Selected for Aspen Institute's Sector Skills Academy

Janice Urbanik, Industry Partnerships Director, was selected as a new fellow in the Sector Skills Academy of the Aspen Institute. The Sector Skills Academy encourages and supports rising leaders in the sectoral employment development field, through a collegial environment, peer exchange, skills acquisition and professional growth.

Media Coverage of the Employers First Launch

Hamilton Journal News (5/18/11): Employers First is a Regional Source for Workforce Development

Cincinnati Enquirer (5/17/11): Survey: Health Care Jobs Seen as Growth Sector

Business Courier (5/13/11): Greater Cincinnati Workforce Group to be Announced at Jobs Summit

Employers First Holds Employer Forum

On March 3, 2011, more than 50 employers from across the tri-state region attended Skill Shortages in a Time of High Unemployment, an employer forum presented by the Employers First Regional Workforce Consortium and the Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network.   

Following a keynote address by J.Domenic Giandomenico of the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, forum participants were engaged through interactive polling technology around employers’ current needs, their thoughts about the region, experiences with the public workforce system and the priorities they suggest for moving forward.   Some key findings:

• 92% of employers plan to hire this year, either through replacements or expansion
• Employers believe that the biggest barriers to those who can't find jobs are a lack of technical skills (44%) and lack of work ethic (42%)
• The top two priorities for regional workforce efforts are creating a joint plan with strategic goals shared by multiple partners (50%) and attracting more funds to the region for skills development (21%)

For the full results, please click here.

WCPO: Ten Years Later: Job development efforts paying off for greater Cincinnati

Click here for the feature story from WCPO on the community's workforce development efforts.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Manufacturing jobs on rise

Click here for a feature story in the Cincinnati Enquirer about the rise in manufacturing jobs, and the skill gaps employers are facing.