American Graduate

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) launched the American Graduate initiative in 2011 to address the nation’s dropout rate. Public media stations across the country forged community connections and innovative partnerships to help improve student outcomes—contributing to a substantial increase in the national high school graduation rate.

American Graduate: Getting to Work begins in 2018 with CPB grants to 19 public media stations to help advance education and career readiness in their communities.

WOSU Public Media was awarded a two-year grant. Moving forward entails collaboration with local organizations, educational institutions and businesses to assess workforce challenges and opportunities, and production of content focused on the essential skills needed for students and workers to succeed in the job markets of today and tomorrow. CPB gave the Ohio grantees a unique assignment. WOSU, CET/Cincinnati and Ideastream/Cleveland are working in partnership to create a state model for addressing the major issues of education and career readiness.

Learn more at WOSU's American Graduate website.

Ways to Connect

Columbus Launches Career Development Program For Recently Incarcerated People

By • Jan 16, 2020
Paige Pfleger / WOSU

Columbus city leaders celebrated the inaugural class of a new career development program to help recently incarcerated individuals find jobs.

Amazon Adding 1,500 Workers For New Distribution Center In West Jefferson

By • Jan 15, 2020
Amazon distribution center in Groveport, Ohio.
WOSU

Amazon has started hiring more than 1,500 workers for a new distribution center in West Jefferson. 

Learning Coding With 14 Weeks And A Leap Of Faith

By • Dec 24, 2019
Ashton Sullivan dropped out of Ohio State in her sophomore year to enroll in a coding bootcamp. Now she works for Drive Capital as a software developer.
Rivet / WOSU

In the middle of her sophomore year, 20-year-old Ashton Sullivan knew she was done with college for good.

“I pulled the plug,” Sullivan says. “I dropped out of school.”

Skilled Trades

By All Sides Staff • Dec 19, 2019
Mac Connor is now an automotive technician for COTA after graduating from Fort Hayes Career Center.
Rivet / WOSU

Skilled trade jobs pay well, are in demand and fulfill the requirement of a career for many people. 

But the skilled trades often are overlooked by graduating high-school seniors. 

Taking A Different Route To Graduation, Only Some High School Required

By • Dec 17, 2019
Mac Connor and a senior mechanic inspect one of the buses at COTA.
Rivet / WOSU

Some students like academic work and thrive in high school. For others, it’s a real drag.

One of those people is Mac Connor. When the 18-year-old talks about it, he does so in a short, matter-of-fact way.

Fewer Students Are Going To College. Here's Why That Matters

By • Dec 16, 2019

This fall, there were nearly 250,000 fewer students enrolled in college than a year ago, according to new numbers out Monday from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which tracks college enrollment by student.

"That's a lot of students that we're losing," says Doug Shapiro, who leads the research center at the Clearinghouse.

Columbus State Community College Launches Office For Workforce Training

By • Dec 11, 2019
Columbus State Community College

Columbus State Community College has opened a new office meant to connect businesses with employees through a set of new training programs.

Insurance Internships Push Students To Think Beyond Ducks And Geckos

By • Dec 10, 2019
Sierra Roberts and a coworker collaborate at the Ohio Mutual office space in Bucyrus, Ohio.
Rivet / WOSU

Sierra Roberts knew the jingles and taglines about insurance. It’s that thing you pay for now in case something goes wrong later. It’s those commercials constantly clamoring for our attention.

When Starting Your Career Early Means Leaving Your Old School Behind

By • Dec 3, 2019
Billan Gurreh sits studying with a classmate at C-TEC Licking County.
Rivet / WOSU

A 45-minute bus ride to a different city gave 17-year-old Billan Gurreh plenty of time to wonder if she was making the right choice. She was nervous to start the year off at a new school.

Ohio's Agriculture Industry Is Much More Than Just Farming

By • Nov 26, 2019
Chris Dible presents a vintage Case tractor at Dible Brothers' Farm in Sunbury, Ohio.
Rivet / WOSU

Chris Dible, 17, walks past a giant red and black tractor. It’s the tractor Dible helped his dad bargain for when he was 13. Standing here, he can’t help but think about his family.

Career Counselors Coming To Ohio College Campuses To Help Students With Disabilities

By • Oct 28, 2019

Ohio’s 15 public colleges and universities will each have a full time counselor dedicated to helping students with disabilities.

Grove City To Reimburse Residents Getting Skilled Training

By • Oct 15, 2019
An electrician apprentice works on a circuit box
WOSU Public Media

Officials in Grove City say they've started a job training reimbursement program that’s the first of its kind in the country.

America's Workforce Development

By All Sides Staff • Oct 14, 2019
Debbie Holmes / WOSU

The National Association of Manufacturers has promised to help train nearly 2 million workers over the next five years to address a worker shortage.

Part of the problem is record low unemployment. Another part is the lack of workers properly trained for the job openings.

Today on All Sides: the disconnect between the jobs and the workforce to fill them.

No Degree? No Problem. Ohio Wins Grant To Help Workers Develop Technical Skills

By • Sep 16, 2019
Jordan Washington switched careers to be an electrician, which he's learning on the job as part of a five-year apprenticeship.
Rivet / WOSU

Ohio is one of six states chosen for a program to increase the upward mobility of adult learners. The goal of the "Educate for Opportunity" project is to train workers for technical and other jobs that are in high demand. 

Northeast Ohio, German Cities Look To Help Each Other Into The Future

By • Aug 21, 2019

Cities of today, no matter where they are, big or small, seem to have the same problem: how to also be a city of tomorrow.

The definition of what "city of tomorrow" can vary widely, but it might include how to have reliable and efficient technology for the city, businesses, and residents as well as how to train workers for jobs that will keep a city competitive and thriving.

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