Supporting high quality jobs in Ohio's bioscience industry

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown joined President Owens, officials from the BioOhio program and other guests for a press conference at Cincinnati State to discuss strategies for connecting individuals with jobs in emerging and high-tech industries.

Of particular interest to Sen. Brown is a program jointly operated by Cincinnati State and Sinclair Community College that trains unemployed workers for jobs in the biosciences industry.

“It’s unacceptable that so many hardworking Ohioans are struggling to find jobs while high-tech industries struggle to fill vacancies. That’s why it’s critical that we invest limited workforce training resources to not only help unemployed workers find jobs, but also to attract new employers in high-tech industries,” Sen. Brown said, during a press event held at a biotech lab in the Health Professions Building on Cincinnati State’s main campus. “By working with Cincinnati State and Sinclair,’’ he added, “BioOhio is helping connect more Ohioans with the jobs of tomorrow, while also boosting Ohio’s biotech industry.”

BioOhio is a non-profit organization launched in 1987 to promote research, education and industry involving bioscience in Ohio. Today, more than 1,340 bioscience firms have operations in Ohio, employing more than 62,500, according to the organization. Between 2004 and 2010, 413 bioscience-related firms started operations in Ohio, its research shows, and that sector added more than 10,000 jobs over the past decade.

Sen. Brown noted that Ohio ranks third in the nation, behind only California and Texas, in bioscience manufacturing, and argued there is potential for growth. “We have a real future for bioscience in this state,’’ he said.

At Cincinnati State, students can pursue an associate’s degree with a major in biotechnology that will prepare them for further education as well as a variety of jobs in the field, ranging from lab techs to equipment operators to managers. There the program chair is Diane Vorbroker.

At the Workforce Development Center in Evendale, Cincinnati State also offers a certificate program with Sinclair that provides intensive, job-focused training geared toward those who are unemployed or who wish to upgrade their skills and certification to advance with an existing employer. There the program manager is Jim Kleemeier.

Several company owners and employees at the press conference spoke to the value of the training they received at Cincinnati State and in the Cincinnati State/Sinclair programs. “I learned a lot from that class,’’ said one graduate, Brad Burns, now employed at DG Medical in Centerville. “Everything I learned in that class I can apply to the job I do now.’’

Cincinnati State is a partner with several other community colleges in a three-year, $5 million federal grant that is designed to help supply Ohio’s growing biosciences industry with a pool of trained workers. As Sen. Brown and Dr. Owens noted, a particular focus of the grant are unemployed and underemployed individuals. 

Statewide, the Ohio Bio Workforce Training Partnership set a goal of enrolling 700 participants over the three-year life of the grant. To date, 407 individuals have enrolled, 200 have graduated, and 107 have found jobs.

One of those who found a biotech job through the BioOhio program was Wendy Terwilliger. After losing a position in an insurance industry downsizing, she enrolled in the certificate program at the WDC and landed a job at Amylin Pharmaceuticals in West Chester.  “Amylin is a great place to work. I love what I do,” Ms. Terwilliger told the Cincinnati Enquirer. Better yet, she is now pursuing an associate’s degree in biotechnology at Cincinnati State.

During the Jan. 10 press event at Cincinnati State, Sen. Brown outlined what he described as a bipartisan plan to foster regional, sectors-based workforce training programs. The Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act would help unemployed workers train for high-tech jobs in their region, he said, by tailoring workforce development to the needs of regional, high-growth industries. The SECTORS Act would organize stakeholders connected to a regional industry including business and labor leaders, education and training providers, and local workforce and education system administrators, to develop plans for growing that industry.

For more information
For more information about the biotech certificate program offered at the Cincinnati State Workforce Development Center in Evendale, please follow this link or contact WDC program manager James Kleemeier at james.kleemeier@cincinnatistate.edu.

For more information about the biotech associate degree program at Cincinnati State, please visit http://www.cincinnatistate.edu/real-world-academics/academic-divisions/health-public-safety/programs-certificates-1/biotechnology-biot?searchterm=biotech or contact program chair Diane Vorbroker at diane.vorbroker@cincinnatistate.edu

 Links to news stories
Training partnership helps fill jobs in Ohio
Dayton Daily News, Jan. 11

Program retrains workers
Cincinnati Enquirer, Jan. 11

Federal training grant helps Ohioans get jobs
Local 12 WKRC, Jan. 10

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College  3520 Central Parkway  Cincinnati, Ohio 45223  (513) 569-1500