ASHLAND — Ohio has gone from being a Rust Belt state to having a thriving economy with companies moving in, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told a roundtable of teachers and business leaders at Ashland University Thursday afternoon.
But to sustain a thriving economy, he said, providing work opportunities and retaining talent is necessary.
For students in Ohio today, options for the future are plentiful, Husted said. He highlighted that, with Ohio’s older population outnumbering those 18 and under, today’s students will be in a unique position: Job opportunities will be available to anyone who wants them.
But Husted shared how in his experience, he didn’t know about all the job and educational opportunities that existed. He went to the University of Dayton to play football and study education.
On Thursday, he attributed his major to the fact that the only people he knew growing up who’d received college degrees were his teachers.
“One of the things I’ve learned along the way is, as a child, it’s hard to get there unless somebody’s telling you how to do it,” Husted said.
Ensuring students know about their options is part of the goal of the state’s Teacher Bootcamp Program.
About the Teacher Bootcamp Program
The program, run through the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation — which Husted directs — offers funding to universities. That funding covers the costs of teachers’ coursework to “up-skill” themselves.
Bootcamps offer educators a chance to engage with businesses in their area. During the program, they take courses and participate in business tours.
According to Husted, teachers then return to their own communities and help students discover the options available to them.
Husted appeared at the roundtable Thursday to announce that eight universities received approval to offer the Teacher Bootcamp.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, those eight universities were:
- Ashland University
- Lake Erie College
- Malone University
- Miami University
- Sinclair Community College
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Findlay
- Youngstown State University
The roundtable
At AU, teachers and business leaders offered Husted feedback about how the program had worked for them. Superintendents, teachers, business owners and more made up the participants.
Sam Weigman, a social studies teacher at the roundtable, said he completed the Teacher Bootcamp program.
While some students plan to go to college, Weigman said he also deals with students who are “lost.” In other words, he said, they don’t know what their future might look like.
For him, the Teacher Bootcamp offered a new ability to connect those students with possible job opportunities.
It became a valuable resource and helped him better understand how to help his students get a leg up, he said. Weigman said he even changed his lesson plans to relate area businesses to world history, bringing his new knowledge to the classroom.
Stories like Weigman’s were the common thread throughout the hour.
Business leaders and educators said the bootcamps helped them connect students with local opportunities, which in turn led to talent retention in each of their communities.
“If we’re going to continue to be a thriving economic state, we need to innovate, and to innovate requires talent,” Husted said. “We want to make the most of every individual.”
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