September 26: "Kaptur: EDA Grant Will Facilitate Job and Economic Development Efforts in Northern Ohio"

HURON -- Employers would be better able to find skilled workers. Startup companies would be better able to make "data-driven decisions" about where to locate new plants. And the Northern Ohio economy would become more competitive in the global marketplace.

Those are just some of the benefits of $800,000 in federal support for Bowling Green State University's Center for Regional Development, according to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.

"We know that we have to innovate our way out of this economic predicament," Congresswoman Kaptur told faculty and students here at BGSU's Firelands branch campus. "And we know that universities can be the job engines for our communities.

"The strategy is to create partnerships between the private sector and Ohio's universities, providing the information to facilitate economic growth and create jobs. That's why this federal support is so important."

Kaptur, who was welcomed to the branch campus by BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey, praised the university's commitment to economic development in the region. "President Mazey has a national reputation as a strategist," Congresswoman Kaptur said, "and Dr. (Mike) Carroll, the center's director, is a real force in economic development."

Kaptur said the $800,000 award from the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration will allow the Center to develop a database to help close the information gap between employers and job seekers. Plus, economic development professionals will use the data to help attract new businesses to the area.

"This strategy is tailored to our situation and designed to produce real results," Congresswoman Kaptur said.

She noted that Bowling Green and project partner, Ohio University, were among a select group of 21 universities nationally to receive funding from the EDA.

According to the BGSU website, the Center for Regional Development will create a searchable database containing real-time information on what workers exist in specific locations and the skill sets they possess. Users will select a specific service area and occupation, and the model will generate the worker density in that location. Everyone from welders to graphic designers will be included, said Dr. Carroll.

"Nothing like this currently exists," he said. "A company representative or economic development officer will be able to log onto our site and pull up a map of all the truck drivers in a particular area, for example...

"It will also help higher education institutions, especially community colleges, in all of Ohio to know what is needed in terms of curriculum in order to be more responsive to the state's needs."

Congresswoman Kaptur also met with a government class and conducted a townhall-type meeting with students.

The Firelands campus serves more than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom hail from Erie, Ottawa and Huron counties. Approximately one third of the Firelands students are "non-traditional"—that is, over the age of 25.

Its Office for Educational Outreach provides customized training programs for area businesses and industry.