Released last Friday, JobsOhio’s first annual report highlights several “solid results” achieved during 2012, including working with “277 companies that committed to create 20,979 jobs, retain 54,633 jobs, and make $5.8 billion in new capital investment,” JobsOhio Chairman and President John Minor said in a letter introducing the report. Internally, JobsOhio implemented its strategic plan for proactive economic development; finalized its contract with the Ohio Development Services Agency to make it the “lead economic development organization for the State of Ohio”; launched the advertising campaign Thrive In Ohio to celebrate “the success and growth of people and businesses in Ohio”; and completed its regional partnership and overarching organizational structure to formally unify local economic development entities.
JobsOhio’s 2013 Strategic Plan indicates a commitment to pursuing retention and expansion efforts for more than 2,000 companies in Ohio because “80 percent of new jobs created come from companies that are already doing business in the [s]tate.” With a focus on California, JobsOhio will expand its Thrive In Ohio marketing campaign to target companies that are ready both for “new capital investment” and to “expand or relocate to a more business friendly location.” The nonprofit is working with targeted industries to generate a “demand forecast” for workforce skills that will then be communicated to Ohio’s education and training providers. In addition to “exploring the assets and opportunities” of the Ohio River, JobsOhio is also working with the Development Services Agency and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to offer up to $43 million for the “revitalization of brownfield and other underutilized sites in Ohio.”
For more, read the full document, which includes both the 2012 Annual Report and the 2013 Strategic Plan.
