Ways for helping Ohioans get back to work

We continue to see good news for Ohio and the country: the jobs report for November shows the economy is growing, thanks in part to major tax reforms Congress passed in 2017, and unemployment is at a 50-year low.

Business owners across Ohio tell me they’ve been able to expand operations, raise wages, and hire more workers. I’ve seen this firsthand recently at businesses in southwest Ohio like Rhinestahl Advanced Manufacturing in Mason and Brainerd Industries in Miamisburg. Since March 2018, we’ve had an unbroken streak of 19 months where there have been more job openings than there are unemployed people in our country.

There’s still more to do, however. We still have too many people not working or seeking employment. For many, a lack of training is holding them back from filling the thousands of available “middle skill” jobs, which require post-high school education but not necessarily a college degree. For others, the continuing struggle against addiction is keeping them from finding lasting employment.

Because of both the skills gap and the addiction crisis, we have too many people who are unable to meet the qualifications to fill the jobs in demand today.

One significant way we can address the skills gap is through more robust training for these unfilled jobs – often times, these are technical and trade jobs, like plumbers, welders, nursing assistants, and IT jobs like coders.

I’m a big proponent of Career and Technical Education starting at the grade-school level. But we must do more to help adult students have access to short-term job training programs. We have a big opportunity to do this by expanding the Pell Grant.

Under current law, low-income students are eligible for federal Pell Grants if they attend college, but not if they choose to enroll in the kind of accredited skills training program that is so needed in today’s economy. This doesn’t make sense. My bipartisan JOBS Act would allow us to fix that by allowing Pell to be used for these shorter-term job-training programs with an industry-recognized credential.

I’m also working to address our labor shortage by partnering with state and local partners to combat the addiction epidemic that still affects far too many communities. It is clear from studies that a major reason we still have a relatively high number of Americans not even looking for work is addiction. For a better future for these Ohioans, and to help fill these needed jobs, addressing addiction is key.

This year I’ve visited a number of treatment and recovery centers that are using resources I’ve secured through my Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act and the 21st Century CURES law to make a difference. In June, I spoke at a graduation at the Hamilton County Office of Reentry’s Supply Chain Logistics Program, which teaches women recovering from drug addiction the skills they need to find a good-paying job after they complete their prison term. Thanks to these kinds of programs, we are seeing fewer overdose deaths, and more people getting into treatment and recovery. After a dozen years of disappointing increases in overdose deaths in Ohio, last year we led the country with a 22% reduction.

There is a positive momentum right now in our country with businesses expanding and seeking skilled workers, but the skills gap and the addiction crisis are roadblocks we must overcome. We need to seize this opportunity, keep our economy moving in this positive direction, and help more Americans fulfill their potential.