CINCINNATI — Record job creation commitments in 2015, innovations in biohealth and a robust talent acquisition program for Ohio companies: those were some of the many announcements presented at the JobsOhio Board of Directors quarterly public meeting hosted by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center on March 17.
JobsOhio President and Chief Investment Officer John Minor shared the record results achieved by JobsOhio in 2015, including 330 projects creating 23,602 new jobs in Ohio and $6.7 billion in new capital investments.
“JobsOhio achieved the largest new jobs commitment in the company’s history, adding more than 9,100 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2015,” said Minor. “ Ohio is growing and outperforming its regional peers and the United States as a whole with industries such as advanced manufacturing, logistics, IT and biohealth leading the way. This speaks to the hard work of our team as well as our regional partners.”
Leadership from REDI Cincinnati, the economic development initiative for southwest Ohio, led a review of regional partner results and shared their record 2015 results that included 7,647 new jobs and $1.2 billion in capital investments.
JobsOhio Senior Managing Director Aaron Pitts highlighted the state’s “Prescription for Success,” concerning the growing biohealth sector. “This sector employs 82,000 in Ohio alone and is home to 16 of the top hospitals in the United States,” said Pitts. “The most inspiring part of all this biohealth activity is that we are impacting and saving lives.”
To illustrate the innovation and potential growth of biohealth in Ohio, Pitts led a panel discussion with the CEOs of Eccrine Systems, Enable Injections and Meridian Bioscience, all Ohio-based companies.
University of Cincinnati President and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital active researcher Dr. Santa Ono highlighted how the university contributes to the statewide biohealth innovation momentum and presented the university’s research facilities, key academic-business partnerships and research and development initiatives.
New to the JobsOhio team, Director of Project Talent Acquisition Cheryl Hay unveiled the company’s strategic approach to supporting companies with customized talent-acquisition services. Hay discussed how JobsOhio will help connect talent with companies locating or expanding in Ohio through services including talent marketing, sourcing, prescreening and workforce training.
Meeting attendees received copies of the 2015 JobsOhio Annual Report and Strategic Plan.
