Date

March 2007

Chair

Scott Watson

Primary Subject Area

Education, Adult and Continuing

Keywords

Targeted Industry Training grants, TITGs, workforce development

Abstract

This study examined educational workforce development in Ohio between the years 1986 and 2005. Since the mid-1970s, Ohio industry has experienced plant closings, employee lay offs and economic workforce challenges as a result of the United States shifting from an industrial economy to a global economy. This quantitative study examined the nature and extent of utilization of Targeted Industry Training grants (TITGs) by businesses eligible for or receiving TITGs administered via community colleges. The sample for this study consisted of 100 Ohio businesses that were divided into the nine Enterprise Ohio regions. The researcher conducted a telephone survey with these businesses that asked five Likert-scaled questions relative to familiarity with TITGs, use of TITGs, satisfaction with TITGs, and the purpose for using TITGs. The results of the study showed that the majority of the survey respondents had not heard of or were not familiar with TITGs. This suggests that the community colleges, which are responsible for administering TITGs, may be relying on traditional approaches to workforce development and may lack a strategic development plan to more aggressively and effectively promote TITGs. A workforce development model that was based on literature and that addressed both the philosophical approach and specific action steps was presented.

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