Governor Ted Strickland Responds to Congressman Kasich’s Press Conference on Workforce Training
COLUMBUS– Today, Governor Ted Strickland released the following statement in response to Republican gubernatorial candidate Congressman John Kasich’s press conference on workforce training:
“As Governor, I’ve already done what Congressman Kasich only talks about. In the face of the global economic recession, my administration made unprecedented investments in workforce training and higher education. As a result of our efforts, 65,591 more Ohioans attend our universities today and over 140,000 Ohioans have received job training.
“Over the past few years, we have consolidated job training programs to make them more business-friendly and placed them under departments that can best connect workers with businesses. Under our Workforce Guarantee Program, we have also provided worker training grants directly to private companies to allow them to choose job training programs for their employees. And when I proposed using casino license revenue to fund additional job training grants, as Congressman Kasich is proposing today, the Republican-led Senate blocked the allocation of those funds.
“We’ve already seen Congressman Kasich’s record on job training. In Congress, after voting for bad trade deals like NAFTA, he proposed eliminating the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides job training to the same workers whose jobs he outsourced. If his votes are his values, it’s clear that he doesn’t value Ohio workers and Ohio jobs.”
Background
Strickland Expanded Higher Education, Workforce Training for Ohioans
Strickland Supports Workforce Training That Has Helped Over 140,000 Ohio Workers.Governor Strickland has supported workforce training programs in Ohio and worked to tailor them to business needs. The Ohio Workforce Guarantee offers direct reimbursement for companies seeking to train their employees. Ohio has trained over 140,000 workers since Strickland came to office, helping to create and retain tens of thousands of jobs. Strickland called on the legislature to expand support for this and other successful workforce development programs in his 2010 State of the State address and he is now working with the legislature to make that happen. [Ohio Department of Development; Office of the Governor]
Over 65,000 More Students Swell Yearly Higher Ed Ranks Since Gov. Strickland Froze Tuition.According to the Ohio Board of Regents, preliminary enrollment numbers indicate that 522,913 students were enrolled at Ohio’s main, branch and community college campuses in the fall of 2009. This marks a dramatic increase over enrollment numbers from Fall 2006 that show 457,322 students enrolled. Since Strickland froze tuition in the Spring of 2007, Ohio has seen yearly enrollment figures increase, leading to the 65,591 student increase in Fall 2009 over Fall 2006. [Ohio Board of Regents]
Kasich Says Job Training Needs To Be Less Confusing, But Strickland Already Consolidated Job Training Programs
March 2008: Strickland Issues Executive Order To Consolidate And Expand Job Training Programs. According to a statement from the Office of the Governor, “In order to help meet his goal of dramatically expanding the level of training and education of Ohio workers, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today signed an executive order that reassigns key workforce programs to the Department of Development and the Ohio Board of Regents…Under the executive order, the Ohio Department of Development will assume responsibility for all services related to employers by transferring authority of the Workforce Investment Act discretionary programs and one-stop business support programs currently housed at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Additionally, the Board of Regents will transfer targeted-industry training grants to the Department of Development to maximize the business community’s usage of those funds. The Ohio Board of Regents will assume responsibility for the Ohio Skills Bank, which works to insure that Ohio’s educational institutions are providing programs and training in most in demand by the private sector. The Ohio Skills Bank is currently housed at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.” [Office of the Governor 3/27/2008]
The Executive Order Realigned Job Training Staff And Funding To Better Meet The Needs Of Business. According to the Plain Dealer, “Strickland today ordered the shift of some $30 million and two dozen staffers to better serve the worker-training needs of Ohio’s companies…As a result of the order, $31 million in worker-training programs and 29 staffers will move to the Ohio Department of Development, from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The move shifts worker training from ODJFS’s human-services focus to ODOD’s job-growth aims. Business leaders like the move. Worker-training money will now be controlled by the agency that best knows what employers are looking for,’ said Baiju Shah, chief executive of BioEnterprise, the bioscience development organization. ‘Before, there was a complete disconnect.’ … State officials said the heightened focus on worker training means Ohio will no longer leave millions of federal dollars ‘on the table.’” [Plain Dealer 3/27/2008]
The Executive Order Consolidated Targeted Industries Training Grants And Ohio Skills Bank.According to the Plain Dealer, “Other changes under Strickland’s executive order include: Shifting $2.7 million in Targeted Industries Training Grants to ODOD, from the Ohio Board of Regents. The reimbursement program covers up to 75 percent of training for companies with less than 100 workers, or 50 percent of training for companies with more than 100 employees; Shifting the Ohio Skills Bank program and its four employees to the Regents board, from ODJFS. The fledgling skills bank calls for 12 regional teams of educators, business experts and others to identify skill shortages and tackle them through high school, college and worker-training programs and curriculum. ‘It gives us a significant capability that was missing,’ said Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut. ‘We’ve heard frequent concerns from business over whether we are producing the right mix of talent and skills.’” [Plain Dealer 3/27/2008]
Chamber Of Commerce Leader: Strickland Job Training Consolidation Puts Ohio On Pace With National Leaders. According to the Plain Dealer, “Business leaders said Strickland’s moves integrate the state’s far-flung worker-training programs. ‘We know the Ohio Skills Bank is where we should shout out the demands for the Northeast Ohio workforce,’ said Joe Roman, president of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the region’s largest chamber of commerce. Linking companies’ talent needs with the ODOD and higher education creates “a very powerful triumvirate that can build over time and be much more efficient,” said Roman, whose organization has made work force development a top priority. Other states, like North Carolina and Texas, have plied similar strategies and are considered national leaders. Ohio must catch up, said Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who’s also head of ODOD.” [Plain Dealer 3/27/2008]
Kasich Says He Wants To Create A New Voucher System For Job Training, But Ohio Already Provides Worker Training Grants Through The Ohio Workforce Guarantee Program
The Ohio Workforce Guarantee Program Provides Job Training Grants To Private Companies Who Want To Create Or Retain Jobs. According to the Department of Development, “The Ohio Workforce Guarantee Program (OWG) supports companies that are making investments in facilities, equipment and training that result in the retention and creation of jobs for Ohioans. The OWG is one of the few programs in Ohio that provides direct financial support to employers for training. Employers have the ability to choose the training provider whether it is a company employee or an outside training provider. The OWG pays for a portion of instructor salaries, materials, travel and special needs. Payments are made on a reimbursement basis. Most types of training associated with an investment project are eligible.” [Department of Development, Viewed 9/7/2010]
The Ohio Workforce Guarantee Program Provides Credit For Companies To Spend At Education Institutions. According to the Office of the Governor, “The Ohio Workforce Guarantee Program is a $3.5 million program that provides training grants of up to $750,000 to companies that are relocating to Ohio or expanding operations within the state. Under the program, funds are made available to companies to train incumbent workers, avert layoffs through business assistance, and collaborate with public education and training institutions statewide to offer credit and certification training for workers.” [Office of the Governor 3/27/2008]
Kasich Says He Would Use Casino Funding To Expand Worker Training Grants, But Strickland Already Proposed That And Republicans Blocked It
Strickland And Democrats Supported Using Casino Revenue To Expand The Workforce Guarantee Program – Republicans Opposed. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, “Comprehensive proposed casino rules spelled out in a bill from the Republican-controlled Senate leave decisions on spending the license fee money for future legislative action. The bill from the Democrat-controlled House allocates the money to four job training programs… $60 million for Ohio’s Workforce Guarantee Program, which aims to avert layoffs and spur business expansion by providing training resources to companies. The program, which dates back to 1979, currently has a $7.4 million budget, down from $22 million in the previous fiscal year…A spokeswoman for Strickland said the House’s proposal aligns with plans to spend the license money on specific job training programs outlined in his State of the State address early this year.” [Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/30/2010]
Republican Controlled Senate Blocked Expansion Of Workforce Guarantee Program. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, “Lawmakers ultimately compromised on job training spending – a major dispute between the Republican-led Senate and the Democratic-controlled House, which passed dueling regulation bills last week…In separate legislation, lawmakers set aside half the license fee revenue for specific job training programs, leaving the remaining $100 million for training programs to be determined by future legislation. Though the constitutional amendment requires the fee money to be spent on job training programs, Senators wanted to wait to allocate the money while the House wanted to set it aside for four specific programs… Left out of funding were: Ohio’s Workforce Guarantee Program, which aims to avert layoffs by providing training resources to companies – awarded $60 million in the original House bill…” [Cincinnati Enquirer, 6/5/2010]
Kasich Tried To Eliminate Job Training For Workers Displaced By Free Trade
Trade Adjustment Assistance Helps Displaced Workers With Job Training And Benefits.According to Policy Matters Ohio, “Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) provides help to workers who lose their jobs because of rising imports or shifts in U.S. production to overseas locations. Workers may receive additional unemployment benefits, training and a health coverage tax credit, among other benefits.” [Schiller, Zach and Mordue, Brandon. "Trade Adjustment Assistance In Ohio 2010." Policy Matters Ohio. July, 2010]
Since 1995, Nearly 120,000 Ohioans Qualified For Trade Adjustment Assistance. According to Policy Matters Ohio, from 1995 through May 17, 2010, 119,215 Ohioans Were Eligible For Trade Adjustment Assistance. [Schiller, Zach and Mordue, Brandon. "Trade Adjustment Assistance In Ohio 2010." Policy Matters Ohio. July, 2010]
Kasich Led The Charge To Eliminate Trade Adjustment Assistance. According to the Journal of Commerce, “The plan slashes… Trade Adjustment Assistance for displaced U.S. workers…Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Budget Committee, kicked off Wednesday’s committee meeting on the plan by placing an electronic ticker displaying the mounting $ 4.77 trillion national debt on the wall above the committee dais… ‘This is for real. It’s going to happen. And it’s going to be enforced,’ Rep. Kasich said, referring to the party discipline that Republicans, who hold the majority in the House, showed in recent months on passage of the Contract With America.” [Journal of Commerce 5/11/95]
AFL-CIO: Eliminating Trade Adjustment Assistance Is “Cruel.” According to the Journal of Commerce, “In a move vehemently opposed by organized labor, the House plan would also eliminate the Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program which is designed to help retrain workers displaced by competition from foreign imports. ‘This is cruel, anti-worker public policy in its purest form,’ Ron Carey, president of the Transportation Trades AFL-CIO, said.” [Journal of Commerce 5/17/1995]
