The Ohio Technical Skills Innovation Network, known as Ohio TechNet (OTN), is a statewide consortium of over 45 community colleges, technical centers, and universities focused on accelerating innovation to meet manufacturing workforce needs.
Built over 10+ years, OTN has a proven framework for leading high-impact initiatives. Private-public partnerships have been at the heart of OTN’s work, including the expansion of earn-and-learn models, engaging the next generation of talent, and building educator capacity. Ohio TechNet serves as an effective front door for those seeking to pilot or scale replicable solutions.
A spirit of collaboration and innovation, combined with expert management, has led Ohio TechNet to successfully generate over $70M of investments in Ohio’s workforce strategies. OTN partners closely with the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA), JobsOhio, and other state and national partners including several Manufacturing USA Institutes.
Through its robust state-wide partnerships, Ohio TechNet provides resources, mentorship, and awareness of innovative programs that inspire the next generation of skilled professionals. In partnership with state and national industry leaders, Ohio TechNet supports its members to expand hands-on experiences with their K-12 partners and build capacity to prepare youth for high-demand fields, providing a strong foundation for success in the workforce.
By fostering collaborative partnerships with employers, educators, and community organizations, OTN helps its members create pathways to success for untapped talent. OTN members have access to free open education resources and many grant projects support capacity building to increase targeted outreach and innovative training and advancement models.
Ohio TechNet provides technical assistance to partners working to advance innovative earn and learn models, bridging the gap between education and workforce needs.
Through strategic partnerships with industry, educational institutions, and workforce agencies, Ohio TechNet leverages resources to provide access to cutting-edge strategies that integrate hands-on learning with real-world work experiences. Innovative earn-and-learn program models work to develop a continuous talent pipeline.
Finding new ways to engage and prepare faculty and other educators to support manufacturing and tech education and training is a recognized shared challenge across Ohio and the U.S. Ohio TechNet has helped secure significant federal and philanthropic investment to support our state’s work to equip more educators with cutting-edge knowledge and training, informed directly by industry.
Faculty and educator development fosters innovation in teaching methodologies, aligns curricula with industry needs, and enhances student success.
Industry-educator collaboration is essential to meet the evolving demands of advanced manufacturing and technology sectors.
Ohio TechNet serves as a trusted “front door” for those seeking to pilot and have a ready infrastructure to scale what works. Partnerships with the ARM Institute, NextFlex, CESMII, and other Institutes within the Manufacturing USA network; the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, the Ohio MEP, National Defense Education Program, regional economic development leaders, industry-sector partnerships, and individual industry leaders directly informs our work to help bring capacity, resources and best practices to OTN education members in their work with industry leaders to develop a pipeline of highly skilled talent tailored to meet specific workforce needs.
We have partnered with the OMA and SkillsCommons to create a portal of free training resources. Materials have been curated by Ohio manufacturers and community college faculty to provide content for your training program.
Manufacturing is the largest of the 20 sectors of Ohio’s economy, including government, with 16.63% of total output in 2018*.
As such, it has a tremendous need for talent. Since the launch of the OMA’s workforce services in 2016, the biggest constraint to industry growth has been a significant disparity between the number of available jobs in manufacturing and the number of qualified applicants for them. Despite the unemployment rate spikes that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers continue to report difficulty filling available jobs.
Risk if not resolved: Jobs will be filled outside of Ohio.
*According to the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, Manufacturing Counts, 2020-2021
Get to know the people and programs that make up OTN.
Our education partners are helping prepare the next generation of manufacturers. To collaborate or start a program of your own, get contact information here.