TAFT SECURES FUNDING FOR CAREER PATHWAYS
Program links economically disadvantaged with medical field career training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2006

Columbus, OH -- Governor Bob Taft today announced the Ohio Controlling Board has approved $750,000 in funding to provide post-secondary education opportunities in the health care field for low-income Ohioans through the Career Pathways Initiative.

“Studies continually show that Ohio will need more nurses and other health care practitioners now and in the years to come,” Taft said. “Through the continued support for the Career Pathways Initiative, the state can address this growing need and provide Ohioans with skills to realize job and career opportunities in the health care field.”

Career Pathways, supported by the Governor’s Workforce Policy Board, is an adult learning initiative that helps working Ohioans receive post-secondary training and development in the healthcare field. With a total investment of $3.8 million, Career Pathways is projected to help 1,500 new health care workers graduate within three years, by which time the project will be self-sustaining through employer dollars.

The three-year program will receive $375,000 in both FY06 and FY07 and is being administered by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, which, along with local stakeholders, provides matching funds. The program is currently being coordinated through three sites: Youngstown State University/Metro Campus, Lakeland Community College, and Pickaway Ross Career Center.

According to Alliance for Excellent Education Fact Sheet, jobs requiring only a high school degree will grow by only 9 percent by 2008, while jobs requiring a bachelor’s or associate’s degree will grow by 25 and 31 percent, respectively.