WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown today applauded news that Cincinnati was selected to participate in the White House’s TechHire initiative. The initiative aims to connect Americans with well-paying technology jobs through training and education. Cincinnati’s designation as a “TechHire City” will allow it to apply for a grant through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) this fall.

“Employers across the U.S. are looking for highly skilled workers to work in their companies and factories. By connecting Ohioans with the right training, we can better meet employer demand for the specific skills they need to fill jobs,” said Brown. “Cincinnati is a hub for technology and manufacturing innovation – and its new designation as a TechHire City will give local partners the opportunity to strengthen southwest Ohio’s workforce and hire more Ohioans. TechHire will help workers realize their potential through skills training and education.”

As part of Cincinnati’s TechHire initiative, 14 local institutions will partner to promote diversity and inclusion in the technology industry and to train candidates with little to no experience for careers in information technology (IT). This program has been endorsed by the Cincinnati Business Committee and the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable whose member organizations intend to hire workers trained through the initiative.

TechHire is a multi-sector initiative to connect Americans with the skills they need to land well-paying technology jobs through traditional accelerated training and education. Communities that participate in the TechHire initiative will:

  • Work with employers to identify areas of greatest needs and what skills they are looking for to fill jobs. They will also develop willingness to hire from training programs and work with employers to review and upgrade their recruiting and hiring practices.
  • Expand models for accelerated training that prepare students in months, not years. Communities will recruit, incubate, and expand accelerated tech learning programs – such as coding boot camps and innovative online training – which enable interested students without prior tech training to quickly gain coding skills. These new models also have potential to reach a broader set of students than have traditionally chosen to pursue tech careers. These new training programs can be run both independently or through a local community college or university education offering.
  • Develop partnerships to help individuals land jobs. Communities will host local tech community gatherings with engaged employers, attract new non-traditional training providers – like coding training – to their regions, and bring visibility to existing local activities like working groups and “meet ups” that bring together workers in different sectors.

Brown is working to help ensure that all Ohioans are prepared to enter the workforce. In July 2014, President Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), legislation that contains provisions modeled after Brown’s Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act that would help dislocated workers train for high-tech jobs in their region. The SECTORS Act provisions will promote and require sector-based partnerships to ensure that workforce training programs are developed with industry input and tailored to meet companies’ workforce needs.

 

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