Ohio Bioscience Industry Workforce Preparedness Project is news for offering training to 660 displaced or underemployed workers in declining industries to become better equipped for careers in Ohio’s growing bioscience industry.
It was earlier this year when BioOhio, a non-profit organisation supported by the Thomas Edison Program of the Ohio Department of Development, and its partners were awarded $5,000,000 by the U.S. Department of Labor to implement a jobs training programme to help meet the needs of Ohio’s growing bioscience industry.
BioOhio has bee chosen to lead and coordinate the three-year programme designed to help Ohio’s displaced or underemployed workers from declining industries find new career opportunities.
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.
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.
There is good news as far as biotech jobs are concerned.
At least 11 biomedical employers have formally committed to partnering on the project.
- 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 programmes for openings in their organisations
