Tag: InnovateOhio

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was named director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, a role he will take on in addition to his capacity as director of InnovateOhio. Gov. Mike DeWine announced the appointment during a Thursday Cabinet meeting, saying he was “pleased” to have Husted “serve as the point person for Ohio’s workforce development efforts.” “It is so important that we continue to invest in our state’s most valuable asset—our workforce, and Lt. Gov. Husted will ensure that our efforts in this area are focused and deliver results,” DeWine said, according to a press release. In his new role, Husted will oversee 75 different workforce development programs across 12 state agencies, and will report directly to the governor. The position was previously occupied by Ryan Burgess, but he stepped down after being appointed director of cabinet affairs for DeWine. “Ohio’s economy has a lot of things working in its favor right now, but if we are going to reach our full potential and make our state more attractive to new businesses, we have to close our skills gap,” said Husted, who worked as vice president of the Dayton-area Chamber of Commerce before entering public office. “If we…

“InnovateOhio” was a central campaign promise of the Mike DeWine/Jon Husted gubernatorial ticket that ended up securing Husted a $176,426 salary. DeWine and Husted, now governor and lieutenant governor, announced the initiative in September 2018 and said it would “bring the best and brightest technology minds” to Ohio to help “improve state and local government.” “The private sector uses innovative ideas and technology to improve their customer service and save money, and there is no reason we can’t bring that approach to the way our government operates,” Husted said at the time. According to a press release from the campaign, InnovateOhio is “about how we make state government a more effective and efficient leader in using technology to improve customer service and save tax dollars.” “In doing so, we make Ohio a state that attracts talent, business, and new investment,” the press release added. Specific proposals under the InnovateOhio initiative included the funding of “at least 10,000 in-demand industry certificates,” which was included in DeWine’s first budget proposal, and the establishment of “opportunity zones for economically-distressed communities.” Republicans, who said they wanted to create a good relationship with the incoming administration, then addressed InnovateOhio in a December 2018 bill. Senate…