Yesterday, the Ohio Chamber offered their support for House Bill 2 and specifically, the TechCred Program housed within the bill. The letter of support for the bill contained the following:

“Dear Chairman Dolan:

On behalf of the nearly 8,000 members of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, I write to you in support of Substitute House Bill 2; legislation that would create the TechCred Program.

Consistently, we hear from our members that they are struggling to fill workforce shortages, as well as find qualified, skilled employees for the openings that they have. We believe that Sub HB 2 will assist employers with filling those workforce shortages as well as “upskilling” their existing workforce.

The process laid out in the House-passed version of Sub HB 2 as it relates to enrollment periods and a review of submitted applications will allow for more competitiveness for these grants, something that our members mentioned was lacking in previous workforce development programs. Additionally, we were pleased to see funding for this program allocated in the Main Operating Budget as opposed to being in a standalone bill.”

It is our hope that this bill moves through the last leg of the legislative process and into effect, thus helping businesses as they face the new and changing dynamics of workforce development.