KASICH’S EXECUTIVE WORKFORCE BOARD ANNOUNCES PLAN OF ACTION

Reforming Ohio’s fragmented workforce development system to better align the needs of job creators with training opportunities for Ohioans is an ongoing goal of Governor John R. Kasich. Today progress in this effort continued with the inaugural meeting of the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board. Members of the Board will work closely with the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, created by Gov. Kasich in February 2012, to rationalize Ohio’s entire workforce system and provide recommendations on how best to streamline nearly 90 existing workforce programs currently scattered across 13 state agencies.

As chairman, R. Blane Walter, Vice President of inVentiv Health, will lead the Board in its three-pronged approach to improve Ohio’s workforce system:

• Forecast the needs of the business community;
• Streamline delivery and services of workforce programs; and
• Implement performance measurements for the workforce system.

For each of these focus areas, a subcommittee will be created and charged with identifying steps toward each goal.

During Monday’s meeting, the Board was advised of five recommendations that will be taken immediately to improve Ohio’s workforce system. The Office of Workforce Transformation will:

• Establish a formal line of communication between the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board and the 20 Local Workforce Investment Board Chairs;
• Develop a statewide policy surrounding Individual Training Accounts to provide a consistent, system-wide approach;
• Implement a statewide rebranding effort of all One-Stop offices so all identify with the OhioMeansJobs brand, creating consistency across the state;
• Encourage the use of the OhioMeansJobs website as the sole source of job searching and placement; and,
• Utilize the OhioMeansJobs website as a resource for those applying for unemployment.

The Board, which was announced in September 2012, is comprised of a variety of representatives including private-industry business, the Ohio General Assembly, local government, a state agency, labor and higher education. Members of the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board include:

• Chairman R. Blane Walter, Vice President of inVentiv Health
• State Representative John E. Barnes, Jr.
• State Senator Bill Beagle
• Ralf Bronnenmeier, Chief Executive Officer, Grob Systems, Inc.
• Roy A. Church, President, Lorain County Community College
• Michael Colbert, Director, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
• Stark County Commissioner Janet Creighton
• State Representative Tim Derickson
• Dennis Franks, Superintendent, Pickaway Ross Career and Technology Center
• State Senator Lou Gentile
• Beavercreek Mayor Vicki Giambrone
• Mitchell P. Grindley, Vice President, Plaskolite, Inc.
• Amanda Hoyt, Director of Public Affairs, Finance Fund
• Julie S. Janson, State President, Duke Energy
• David L. Joyce, President/CEO, General Electric Aviation
• John Komor, Plant Manager, General Mills
• Dennis A. Nash, Chairman/CEO, Kenan Advantage Group
• Phillip L. Parker, President/CEO, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
• Albert B. Ratner, Co-Chairman Emeritus, Forest City Enterprises, Inc.
• Doug Reffitt, Director, Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters
• Patrick Sink, Business Manager, International Union of Operating Engineers
• Richard Stoff, President/CEO, Ohio Business Roundtable
• Gary S. Weinstein, Chief Operation Officer, Providence Equity Partners
• David Whitehead, Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief Ethics Officer (Retired), FirstEnergy
• Thomas F. Zenty III, Chief Executive Officer, University Hospitals