Each month, the Ohio ACTE E-news will feature one of our Organizational Members. Ohio ACTE Organizational Members are schools and other institutions that join Ohio ACTE to show their commitment and support for career-technical and adult education.   Organizational membership covers membership for all staff and includes access to benefits, discounts, and resources for all staff members. See all Organizational Members here.  

This month, meet Apollo Career Center, located in Lima, Ohio!

Location: Lima, Ohio

Website: www.apollocareercenter.com/

Superintendent: Keith Horner

Apollo Career Center serves 920 students on campus with 13 satellite programs, covering 610 sq. miles in Ohio. The school districts they partner with include Elida, Bath, Allen East, Ada, Bluffton, Columbus Grove, Hardin Northern, Perry, Shawnee, Spencerville, and Wapakoneta. 

Health Science is one of their most popular programs, and students choose Apollo CC for all sort of reasons; they want a new change or a fresh start, they are truly interested in the programs offered at Apollo and know it is the best way to gain the needed skills for their future careers, and/or they are encouraged to attend by their home schools and caregivers.

Like many other career centers, Superintendent Keith Horner shared that Apollo has seen tremendous growth in their high school and adult programming. That growth also comes with its challenges. "Our biggest challenge currently would be managing growth and demand in both our high school and adult programming. In addition to that, a challenge is to ensure that we are preparing instructors in a quality manner to be beneficial to the students and to our partners," said Keith. 

Keith shared that Apollo's philosophy is guided by their Vision Statement, which states, Apollo CC will prepare students to be next ready to have a positive impact in our community. "The two main parts of that are the students and community. Having the students as our primary focus and the community as our second primary focus has served us well," said Keith. 

Apollo truly is a special part of the larger community, and Keith is grateful for everyone who works at Apollo Career Center. "I am proud of and thankful for every employee who helps make Apollo a special place in our region," he said. 

Ohio ACTE thanks Apollo Career Center for their membership as an Ohio ACTE Organizational School Member!

The 2023 Educator Awards nomination form is now open through January 10, 2023. Read about the awards, as well as access the nomination form, at ohioacte.org/awards.

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced Nov. 3rd the results of September’s round of TechCred, in which 348 employers were approved for funding, providing the opportunity for Ohioans to earn 4,135 tech-focused credentials. This most recent round marks the 16th application period of the program with manufacturing topping the list of industries applying for tech-infused credentials.

“If you are a business owner in Ohio and you aren’t using TechCred, you are missing out on the opportunity to build a more competitive workforce,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “Utilizing TechCred is a win-win situation for both the business owners and their employees who want to upskill.”

With the approvals announced today, a total of 2,066 Ohio employers have been approved for funding through the TechCred program, supporting the earning of 52,767 tech-focused credentials by employees.

“These results speak for themselves,” said Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “TechCred continues to prove its importance to Ohio businesses and their employees. As more workers have the opportunity to expand and improve their skills, businesses also benefit from improvements in productivity and efficiency.”

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, who serves as Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, announced that the application periods for both TechCred and the Individual Microcredential Assistance Program (IMAP) launch today and will run through the end of November.

“Both TechCred and IMAP continue to do well, and demand is strong among businesses, training providers and Ohioans wanting to learn a new, tech-focused skill,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “With Ohio winning big on economic development projects around the state, we’ll need to fill the open jobs with the right kind of talent, and the application opportunities announced today aim to help on that effort and boost our workforce.”

TechCred Application Period Launches for Ohio Businesses

The 17^th round of TechCred launches today. This program helps businesses address their workforce needs by upskilling current and prospective employees. Businesses of all sizes, from any industry, are eligible for up to $30,000 per round and up to $180,000 per year. Since TechCred launched, nearly 2,000 Ohio employers have been approved for funding, supporting the earning of nearly 50,000 tech-focused credentials by Ohio employees.  

The application period for businesses opens today, November 1, 2022, and closes November 30, 2022, at 3:00 PM. Apply now at TechCred.Ohio.Gov.

“Businesses across the state take advantage of the TechCred program because it helps their employees and business at the same time,” said Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “This will be the last application round in 2022, and we encourage businesses that haven’t participated to apply now.”

Results for the September round of TechCred will be announced in the very near future.

IMAP Application Period Launches for Ohio Training Providers

The fourth round of the IMAP grant opportunity launches today. This program helps Ohioans who are low-income, partially unemployed, or totally unemployed participate in a training program and receive one or more credential(s) for free.

The grant is currently open for training providers, which includes two-year and four-year colleges and universities, career centers, and private training providers, that once approved, would be reimbursed up to $3,000 for each completed technology-focused credential issued.

The application period for training providers begins today, November 1, 2022, and closes November 30, 2022, at 3:00 PM. Training providers interested in applying can visit the IMAP website for more information.

“These programs are just two examples of meaningful opportunity that Ohio offers when it comes to education and training,” said Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner. “They’re essential to a healthy economy and a skilled workforce that can adapt to today’s changes in technology.”

Individuals and training providers interested in learning more about these programs can visit: Workforce.Ohio.gov/Initiatives.

According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) release Friday, the national unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent in October as total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 261,000 jobs.

BLS said the number of unemployed persons rose by 306,000 to 6.1 million in October.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women (3.4 percent) and Whites (3.2 percent) rose in October. The jobless rates for adult men (3.3 percent), teenagers (11.0 percent),

Blacks (5.9 percent), Asians (2.9 percent) and Hispanics (4.2 percent) showed little or no change over the month.

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losses changed little at 1.2 million in October, and the number of persons on temporary layoff also changed little at 847,000.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 1.2 million in October as well. The long-term unemployed accounted for 19.5 percent of all unemployed persons.

The labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.2 percent and the employment-population ratio was unchanged at 60.0 percent. Both measures are 1.2 percentage points below their values in February 2020, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons was little changed at 3.7 million in October. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.

The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 5.7 million and remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the four weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force was little changed in October at 1.5 million. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, decreased by 114,000 to 371,000 in October.

BLS said health care employment increased by 53,000, with gains in ambulatory health care services (+31,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+11,000), and hospitals (+11,000). So far in 2022, health care employment has increased by an average of 47,000 per month, compared with 9,000 per month in 2021.

Professional and technical services employment rose by 43,000 jobs. That included increases in management and technical consulting services (+7,000), architectural and engineering services (+7,000) and scientific research and development services (+5,000). Monthly job growth in professional and technical services has averaged 41,000 in 2022, compared with 53,000 per month in 2021.

Manufacturing increased by 32,000 jobs, largely in durable goods industries (+23,000). Manufacturing employment has increased by an average of 37,000 per month in 2022, compared with 30,000 in 2021.

Employment in social assistance rose 19,000 in October and is slightly below the pre-pandemic level by 9,000 jobs. Much of the October increase was in individual and family services (+10,000).

Leisure and hospitality employment added 35,000 jobs, including an increase in accommodation (+20,000). Food services and drinking places changed little over the month (+6,000). Leisure and hospitality has added an average of 78,000 jobs per month thus far this year, less than half of the average gain of 196,000 jobs per month in 2021. Employment in leisure and hospitality is down by 1.1 million, or 6.5 percent, from its February 2020 level.

Wholesale trade added 15,000 jobs in October. Employment in the industry has increased by an average of 17,000 per month in 2022, compared to 13,000 per month in 2021.

Employment in transportation and warehousing was little changed in October (+8,000). There were gains in truck transportation (+13,000), couriers and messengers (+7,000) and air transportation (+4,000), but that was partially offset by a loss in warehousing and storage (-20,000).

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including financial activities, mining, construction, retail trade, information, other services and government.

In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $32.58. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.7 percent. In October, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 9 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $27.86.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised down by 23,000, from +315,000 to +292,000, and the change for September was revised up by 52,000, from +263,000 to +315,000. With these revisions, employment gains in August and September combined were 29,000 higher than previously reported.

BLS said Hurricane Ian had no discernible effect on the employment and unemployment data for October.

Ohio ACTE is once again working with the Ohio Department of Education Office of CTE to identify five outstanding career-technical senior (Class of 2023) students to be recognized as part of the US Department of Education  National Presidential Scholars Program. This is the eighth year that career technical students will be represented among the US Presidential Scholars. Out of all the applicants nationwide, 20 CTE students will be recognized.  Each state may submit up to five scholars.

For more information and to access the criteria/nomination form, click here.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.  Click here for more information.

Nominations are being accepted for the position of Ohio ACTE Board Secretary for the unexpired term ending September 1, 2023.

This is due to a resignation from the Board because of a job change outside of Career-Technical Education. According to the bylaws, nominations need to come through the divisions and the Ohio ACTE Board Members will vote on the replacement:

“A vacancy on the Executive Board of Directors shall be filled from at least two (2) nominations submitted from the divisions. A majority vote of the Executive Board of Directors shall be necessary to fill the vacancy from the nominees.”

Interested members can email nominations to Ohio ACTE at membership@ohioacte.org by November 25th. If the person wishes to continue serving, they will have to declare candidacy by April 15^th, 2023 for the term to begin September 2, 2023 through September 1, 2025 (2 year term).

Ohio ACTE is grateful for the leadership of Christine Boucher, who served as Secretary for the past term. She made many contributions to the Board and Ohio ACTE, and we appreciate her leadership and guidance!

Quality Program Review (QPR) 2022 data is now available to view in the CTE-26 Compliance System. Keep in mind that Technical Skill Attainment and Post-Program Placement return to accountability with this data set. Work-based Learning will remain Hold Harmless until the QPR 2025 data set. 

When reviewing data, remember that due to the reset in non-compliance, any pathway that is non-compliant in either Technical Skill Attainment or Post-Program Placement will be 1^st year non-compliant. The Office or Career-Technical Education (CTE) is currently scheduling QPR Workshops for December, January and February and will be releasing a schedule and registration information soon.

Buckeye Local High School in Rayland, OH, will be hosting the Sea Air and Land Challenge on April 28, 2023. Interested schools should register now at http://seaairland.psu.edu/register/.

Nicknamed the SeAL Challenge, this program is a Department of Defense (DoD) sponosred STEM initiative in which teams of high school students design and build robotic vehicles and payloads. Students have 12-16 weeks to design their vehicles. Each team is paired with an engineering mentor to guide them through the design and build process.

Now in its 11th year, the SeAL Challenge is free to students, school districts, and organizations. There is no fee for registration or program material, but each team is responsible for securing their own funding, a maximum of $600 per team, for their open-sourced robotic system.

Jeff Merrill from Buckeye Local HS will host this year's Eastern Ohio SeAL Challenge. Questions regarding the program should be directed to him at jeff.merrill@buckeyelocal.net.