Career TEchnical AND Adult Education News

The Ohio ACTE Board has unanimously approved Maggie Hess to be the Interim Executive Director of Ohio ACTE.  Maggie is currently the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Career Tech Superintendents and will continue her work for OACTS while also serving Ohio ACTE as the Interim Executive Director. 

Maggie’s career has been spent advocating and leading career tech education as a Special Education and Campus Director at Great Oaks in addition to almost thirteen years as the Superintendent for the Warren County Career Center.  The past five years, she has lead OACTS.    

As we work to solidify a long term solution for a permanent Executive Director of Ohio ACTE, we are honored to have Maggie Hess lead the process over the next several months to continue the great work Christine Gardner accomplished during her 16 year tenure with Ohio ACTE.  Although Christine will certainly be missed by all and difficult to replace, we will carry on the lasting legacy Chris left behind in advocating for Ohio’s Career Tech community.

The Educator Standards Board will meet Dec. 8-9 at Quest Business Center, 9200 Worthington Road, Westerville.

Committee meetings will be held Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The full board will meet Friday, Dec. 9 at 9 a.m., followed by the business meeting at 1:15 p.m.

Click here for the agenda. Public participation will be welcome during the time allotted on the agenda.
For general questions about the meeting, contact Shawna Gibson at (614) 995-4121
 
The Ohio Department of Education is committed to providing access and inclusion and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws. To request a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, please contact Aleshia McNutt, ADA coordinator, at ADAaccommodation@education.ohio.gov or (614) 387-2200 (voice) no later than two business days (48 hours) before the event.

To help remove academic and training barriers faced by young people, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $90 million funding opportunity in YouthBuild Program grants to support pre-apprenticeships in high-demand industries including construction, healthcare, information technology and hospitality.

Grants will support occupational skills training, employment services and educational guidance to disadvantaged young people, from ages 16 to 24, in communities where barriers to basic academic and career skills development exist. 

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, and supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the grants will fund approximately 75 projects nationwide with individual grants ranging from $700,000 to $1.5 million. The funding opportunity follows the department’s 2021 guidance that prioritizes quality jobs, green building and community violence intervention.

In August 2022, the department added the YouthBuild program to the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are overburdened by pollution.

YouthBuild grants have enabled program participants to support initiatives in construction, technology and the care economy such as the following:

• In Madison, Wisconsin, Operation Fresh Start provides mental health counseling to all YouthBuild program participants. Through a partnership with the metropolitan school district, participants are also eligible to earn a high school diploma. OFS provides workplace skills training in construction and forestry, career counseling and a stipend for living expenses while in the program. Upon completion, participants also earn an AmeriCorps education award.
• North Brooklyn YouthBuild in New York offers training in construction and healthcare with a range of credentials available to participants. Participants in the construction pathway build three affordable housing units for the community and earn certifications in green construction and other programs.
• Bi-County Community Action Programs, Inc. serves a rural community in Bemidji, Minnesota. By partnering with entities such as Evergreen Youth and Family Services, the local juvenile justice system, and Bemidji State University, BI-CAP provides individual instruction so participants work at their own pace to achieve competencies.
• In Denver, Mile High Youth Corps trains youth to earn the Home Builders Institute’s Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training Core Curriculum certification and PACT Green Building certification. Through a partnership with the Community College of Denver, MHYC’s Health & Wellness track prepares young people for careers in the nursing industry.

Learn more about grant eligibility and apply.

Krista Gearhart, Director of Career Technical Education at South Stark Career Academy, has been named the Ohio ACTE Board Secretary. She will serve in the role starting now through Sept. 2023. 

Ohio ACTE Leadership is pleased to welcome Krista to the Board!

Each month, the Ohio ACTE E-news will feature one of our Organizational Members. Ohio ACTE Organizational Members are schools and other institutions that join Ohio ACTE to show their commitment and support for career-technical and adult education.   Organizational membership covers membership for all staff and includes access to benefits, discounts, and resources for all staff members. See all Organizational Members here.  

This month, meet Apollo Career Center, located in Lima, Ohio!

Location: Lima, Ohio

Website: www.apollocareercenter.com/

Superintendent: Keith Horner

Apollo Career Center serves 920 students on campus with 13 satellite programs, covering 610 sq. miles in Ohio. The school districts they partner with include Elida, Bath, Allen East, Ada, Bluffton, Columbus Grove, Hardin Northern, Perry, Shawnee, Spencerville, and Wapakoneta. 

Health Science is one of their most popular programs, and students choose Apollo CC for all sort of reasons; they want a new change or a fresh start, they are truly interested in the programs offered at Apollo and know it is the best way to gain the needed skills for their future careers, and/or they are encouraged to attend by their home schools and caregivers.

Like many other career centers, Superintendent Keith Horner shared that Apollo has seen tremendous growth in their high school and adult programming. That growth also comes with its challenges. "Our biggest challenge currently would be managing growth and demand in both our high school and adult programming. In addition to that, a challenge is to ensure that we are preparing instructors in a quality manner to be beneficial to the students and to our partners," said Keith. 

Keith shared that Apollo's philosophy is guided by their Vision Statement, which states, Apollo CC will prepare students to be next ready to have a positive impact in our community. "The two main parts of that are the students and community. Having the students as our primary focus and the community as our second primary focus has served us well," said Keith. 

Apollo truly is a special part of the larger community, and Keith is grateful for everyone who works at Apollo Career Center. "I am proud of and thankful for every employee who helps make Apollo a special place in our region," he said. 

Ohio ACTE thanks Apollo Career Center for their membership as an Ohio ACTE Organizational School Member!

The 2023 Educator Awards nomination form is now open through January 10, 2023. Read about the awards, as well as access the nomination form, at ohioacte.org/awards.

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced Nov. 3rd the results of September’s round of TechCred, in which 348 employers were approved for funding, providing the opportunity for Ohioans to earn 4,135 tech-focused credentials. This most recent round marks the 16th application period of the program with manufacturing topping the list of industries applying for tech-infused credentials.

“If you are a business owner in Ohio and you aren’t using TechCred, you are missing out on the opportunity to build a more competitive workforce,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “Utilizing TechCred is a win-win situation for both the business owners and their employees who want to upskill.”

With the approvals announced today, a total of 2,066 Ohio employers have been approved for funding through the TechCred program, supporting the earning of 52,767 tech-focused credentials by employees.

“These results speak for themselves,” said Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “TechCred continues to prove its importance to Ohio businesses and their employees. As more workers have the opportunity to expand and improve their skills, businesses also benefit from improvements in productivity and efficiency.”

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, who serves as Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, announced that the application periods for both TechCred and the Individual Microcredential Assistance Program (IMAP) launch today and will run through the end of November.

“Both TechCred and IMAP continue to do well, and demand is strong among businesses, training providers and Ohioans wanting to learn a new, tech-focused skill,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “With Ohio winning big on economic development projects around the state, we’ll need to fill the open jobs with the right kind of talent, and the application opportunities announced today aim to help on that effort and boost our workforce.”

TechCred Application Period Launches for Ohio Businesses

The 17^th round of TechCred launches today. This program helps businesses address their workforce needs by upskilling current and prospective employees. Businesses of all sizes, from any industry, are eligible for up to $30,000 per round and up to $180,000 per year. Since TechCred launched, nearly 2,000 Ohio employers have been approved for funding, supporting the earning of nearly 50,000 tech-focused credentials by Ohio employees.  

The application period for businesses opens today, November 1, 2022, and closes November 30, 2022, at 3:00 PM. Apply now at TechCred.Ohio.Gov.

“Businesses across the state take advantage of the TechCred program because it helps their employees and business at the same time,” said Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “This will be the last application round in 2022, and we encourage businesses that haven’t participated to apply now.”

Results for the September round of TechCred will be announced in the very near future.

IMAP Application Period Launches for Ohio Training Providers

The fourth round of the IMAP grant opportunity launches today. This program helps Ohioans who are low-income, partially unemployed, or totally unemployed participate in a training program and receive one or more credential(s) for free.

The grant is currently open for training providers, which includes two-year and four-year colleges and universities, career centers, and private training providers, that once approved, would be reimbursed up to $3,000 for each completed technology-focused credential issued.

The application period for training providers begins today, November 1, 2022, and closes November 30, 2022, at 3:00 PM. Training providers interested in applying can visit the IMAP website for more information.

“These programs are just two examples of meaningful opportunity that Ohio offers when it comes to education and training,” said Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner. “They’re essential to a healthy economy and a skilled workforce that can adapt to today’s changes in technology.”

Individuals and training providers interested in learning more about these programs can visit: Workforce.Ohio.gov/Initiatives.

According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) release Friday, the national unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent in October as total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 261,000 jobs.

BLS said the number of unemployed persons rose by 306,000 to 6.1 million in October.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women (3.4 percent) and Whites (3.2 percent) rose in October. The jobless rates for adult men (3.3 percent), teenagers (11.0 percent),

Blacks (5.9 percent), Asians (2.9 percent) and Hispanics (4.2 percent) showed little or no change over the month.

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losses changed little at 1.2 million in October, and the number of persons on temporary layoff also changed little at 847,000.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 1.2 million in October as well. The long-term unemployed accounted for 19.5 percent of all unemployed persons.

The labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.2 percent and the employment-population ratio was unchanged at 60.0 percent. Both measures are 1.2 percentage points below their values in February 2020, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons was little changed at 3.7 million in October. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.

The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 5.7 million and remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the four weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force was little changed in October at 1.5 million. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, decreased by 114,000 to 371,000 in October.

BLS said health care employment increased by 53,000, with gains in ambulatory health care services (+31,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+11,000), and hospitals (+11,000). So far in 2022, health care employment has increased by an average of 47,000 per month, compared with 9,000 per month in 2021.

Professional and technical services employment rose by 43,000 jobs. That included increases in management and technical consulting services (+7,000), architectural and engineering services (+7,000) and scientific research and development services (+5,000). Monthly job growth in professional and technical services has averaged 41,000 in 2022, compared with 53,000 per month in 2021.

Manufacturing increased by 32,000 jobs, largely in durable goods industries (+23,000). Manufacturing employment has increased by an average of 37,000 per month in 2022, compared with 30,000 in 2021.

Employment in social assistance rose 19,000 in October and is slightly below the pre-pandemic level by 9,000 jobs. Much of the October increase was in individual and family services (+10,000).

Leisure and hospitality employment added 35,000 jobs, including an increase in accommodation (+20,000). Food services and drinking places changed little over the month (+6,000). Leisure and hospitality has added an average of 78,000 jobs per month thus far this year, less than half of the average gain of 196,000 jobs per month in 2021. Employment in leisure and hospitality is down by 1.1 million, or 6.5 percent, from its February 2020 level.

Wholesale trade added 15,000 jobs in October. Employment in the industry has increased by an average of 17,000 per month in 2022, compared to 13,000 per month in 2021.

Employment in transportation and warehousing was little changed in October (+8,000). There were gains in truck transportation (+13,000), couriers and messengers (+7,000) and air transportation (+4,000), but that was partially offset by a loss in warehousing and storage (-20,000).

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including financial activities, mining, construction, retail trade, information, other services and government.

In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $32.58. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.7 percent. In October, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 9 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $27.86.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised down by 23,000, from +315,000 to +292,000, and the change for September was revised up by 52,000, from +263,000 to +315,000. With these revisions, employment gains in August and September combined were 29,000 higher than previously reported.

BLS said Hurricane Ian had no discernible effect on the employment and unemployment data for October.