Ohio ‘ahead of the game’ with broadband workforce training, says Lt. Gov

Like most states, Ohio has its own approach to bolstering broadband accessibility. One area where Ohio is seeing progress, Lt. Governor Jon Husted (R-OH) said, is in enhancing its broadband workforce. Lt. Gov Husted, who also leads Ohio’s Office of Workforce Transformation, explained Ohio State University (OSU) has developed a curriculum for 5G and high-speed internet expansion, which can be used by other colleges and universities as well as the private sector. In 2022, OSU received $3 million in state funds to design its curriculum, which is also being deployed at high schools as well as adult career centers, said Lt. Gov Husted. The state has also doled out around $500 million to four other institutions to help train broadband technicians. Lt. Gov Husted pointed out that the private sector – in many cases the broadband providers– has helped the initiative by providing instructors. He added the structure of Ohio’s broadband grant program has caused some rural areas, particularly in the northwest part of the state, to not be “served as well as I had hoped.” “In the way [the program] was structured, it just skewed towards more Appalachian, lower-income rural parts of Ohio, rather than some of the less dense, farm communities you have in Northwest Ohio,” he said. That implementation spans all areas, from developing the workforce to having accurate maps, “all those kinds of details, those need to be in play,” he added.