House Bill 2 and House Bill 4 are both set to become law following actions taken by the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate this week. The issue of workforce development remains one of the top concerns for Ohio businesses and, clearly, the legislature is attempting to address these concerns by passing HB 2 and HB 4.
HB 2 is legislation that would create the TechCred Program. As our letter of support states, HB 2 will assist employers with filling existing workforce vacancies within their own company, as well as “upskill” their current employees. The program is already up and running, but HB 2 will codify the process and provide more guidelines as to how the program will be administered. For more information on the program and to apply, please see the following link: www.techcred.ohio.gov.
HB 4 requires the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation to act as a liaison between the business community and the Department of Education (ODE) or the Chancellor of Higher Education (ODHE) with regard to industry-recognized credentials or certificate programs. Although this is already going on between businesses and either ODE or ODHE, we believe that codifying this process will be helpful.
Both bills will assist Ohio businesses in attracting and retaining qualified, skilled employees. HB 2 and HB 4 were passed overwhelmingly through the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate, and we are hopeful that Governor DeWine will sign each into law soon.