Ohio Ready to Work

WVIZ/PBS ideastream is pleased to be working with the rest of Ohio’s public broadcasting stations on a new initiative called Ohio Ready to Work, a program designed to assist agencies that provide training and education to Ohio’s unemployed and underemployed.

GED Connections – study for your high school diploma.
Workplace Essential Skills – learn and practice skills that will help you find and keep a job.

Streaming Media
The Fast Forward Ohio site provides free, 24/7 resources to help you prepare for the GED exam. Help is a click away with GED Connection, a series of 39 half hour programs that you can view here via streaming video or watch them on WVIZ. Check out the GED online exercises and practice tests on this site as well as get all the information you’ll need to register for and take the GED exam.

The National Significance of the Project
The U.S. Department of Education indicates that 60% of unemployed individuals lack the basic skills to be trained for emerging high technology jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 40% of all existing jobs can be performed by individuals with limited skills, but only 27% of newly created jobs will fall into that category. More and more potential members of the workforce are finding themselves without a means of support because they are unequipped for employment. This has vast implications for the welfare system. According to the American Council of Insurance, people with less than a sixth grade education are four times more likely to be receiving public assistance as their better educated peers. Basic employment education and qualified help to complete GED requirements are national issues. The Ohio Ready to Work project is a viable response to providing those basic resources to unemployed and under employed Ohio citizens.

The Immediate Need
Displaced workers in Ohio are in need of training to reposition themselves in a changing workplace. This training includes not only the development of new technical skills, but also a more basic understanding of how to best present themselves in a resume, in a personal interview, and to both management and co-workers on the job. Additionally, it is noted in the research that nearly one-fourth of Ohio adults have not graduated from high school. This is a sobering statistic when considering that a high school diploma or GED is increasingly deemed necessary to obtain all but those jobs requiring the lowest skills.

The Training Relationships, Activities and Tools
The Ohio Ready to Work project combines the strength of several important partnerships, events and training programs to reach those seeking workforce training:

Small Business and Literacy Provider partnerships: Each station will set up an advisory board composed of representatives from the small business sector, literacy providers and any other appropriate agencies. This advisory board will help to determine appropriate training and curriculum, as well as to keep the station personnel advised of the needs of the agencies, community businesses and their workforce.

Training: WVIZ/PBS will host a “Technology Workshop” in September, 2008 that introduces literacy and workforce instructors to new technologies that can be integrated into their curricula.

The GED Series: The project includes a daily broadcast (minimum 5 days a week) of the excellent GED series, which has found acceptance and success in many public broadcasting communities. This series provides workbooks for learners that are created for those with limited reading skills. The broadcast covers each section of the workbook, and provides clarification and additional information to the learner.

Workplace Essentials: WVIZ/PBS also uses the acclaimed PBS series, Workplace Essentials, as a keystone to a package that would include the daily statewide broadcast of the 25 episode series that teach not just the skills but also the attitudes necessary to succeed at work. Reading, writing, math, communication, and problem solving are presented in workplace contexts. Learners also see how to prepare resumes and applications and how to prepare themselves for interviews and for the workplace. In-depth documentary and scripted footage shows what employers look for in new hires and how to fit in and thrive in a new job. Workplace Essentials is not just a video/television series; it is a comprehensive integrated multimedia learning system, with workbooks, an interactive online component, and a teacher’s guide to help students get the most from this valuable resource.