As Johnstown-Monroe opens high school Innovation Center, future now for Silicon Heartland
JOHNSTOWN – Monday's opening of the Johnstown-Monroe School District's newest Innovation Center provided a perfect moment to seize on the opportunities available to western Licking County students.
Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, who was on hand at the high school, didn't miss a beat as Intel and other companies are either established or fast-tracking movement into the area, creating a new occupational terrain.
"Ohio is at the forefront in the Midwest of building that talent, as businesses increase to get what they need to compete against anyone in the world," Husted said, as the new high school lab bolsters the one established last fall at Johnstown Elementary. "Intel picked Central Ohio to be the best at what they want to do, and it's an opportunity for our students to live the American dream, without leaving the area."
Husted said the region is no longer the Rust Belt and is transforming into the Silicon Heartland. He said he was on board with STEM as early as 2007, through the Choose Ohio First scholarships, and constantly focuses on economic and workforce development and innovation. STEAM education incorporates the arts into science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
"We have a shrinking workforce. More people than ever are turning 65 every year," he said. "That creates an opportunity."
School superintendents from Johnstown, Licking Heights, Southwest Licking and Northridge all attended Monday, and C-TEC was also represented, as they look to get out in front of the future.
"The five of us have been working in collaboration, and that helps a lot," Johnstown Superintendent Philp Wagner said.
That education is the key to the future, in more ways than one, Central Ohio Technical College President John Berry said.
"We're here to change lives, and build communities," he said.
Berry and Johnstown school board members, along with reps from Intel, Amazon, Licking County Health Systems, Bechtel and other companies, got a good look at the newest Innnovation Lab. Johnstown students and teachers were more than happy to lend assistance.
Johnstown High School principal Angel King and students explained the various machines in the lab. There was a laser engraver and 3-D printers, which can be used for cups, mugs, coasters and shirts. A student-driven Shop Bot is capable of making furniture.
Dominating the room was a Heat Press.
"It can make very large banners, with eight colors, and people will be able purchase the banners from Johnstown High School," King said.
In another room, Jason Hoffman, one of the owners of Buckeye Educational Systems, explained the technology going into the Ignite program, for the future of engineering and robotics through Intel and the Career And Technology Education Centers of Licking County.
Senior Josiah Rose worked the controls of an entertaining quadruped, or robot dog, a ground-based drone that is basically a walking computer.
"The biggest of these made by this company can carry 225 pounds and is dustproof and waterproof," Hoffman said. "There are endless possibilities, including use for school resource officers."
There was a tabletop electronic device, where students learn about programmable logic controllers, how to program them and run them. There was a Skill Boss, where they can see the full manufacturing process by taking it apart and putting it back together.
"This whole area is designed so they understand what manufacturing is, and to inform students of the range of occupations that exist," Hoffman said. "This is a project-based learning lab."
Business leaders discuss potential applications of artificial intelligence
Later, at a community forum in the Performing Arts Center, business representatives answered questions about what skills will be required in the future, what kinds of jobs will be available and the effects of artificial intelligence.
Ken Granville, MEP pre-construction manager for Turner Construction Company, said that AI is just a tool, and it has to be the right tool for the right task.
"We're the cloud for the world, but AI is something that has not yet been regulated," said Tim Harman of Amazon Web Services. "We need to use it for the betterment of mankind, not the detriment. Who is writing these programs? There can be inherent biases."
Rob Montagnese, CEO and president of Licking Memorial Health Systems, said they are moving forward with AI but do not want to lose the human touch that goes into medical care.
Employers seeking 'team players' with soft skills, such as grit and resiliency
Different skills will be required by future employers, and a lot of them are intangible.
Montagnese said they are seeking people with passion and energy. Turner Construction employees need to be problem solvers and creative thinkers, Granville said. Jonathan White of Bechtel, an engineering, construction and project management company, said they are looking for "team players." And those with some "grit."
"We need students who really want to work on a team, because we employ thousands on these mega projects that we take on," White said.
Intel construction in western Licking is one such project, which will have 7,000 construction jobs and 3,000 other jobs, said Emily Smith, Intel Ohio public affairs coordinator.
"Of those 3,000, 2,100 will be technicians," she said. "We have invested $50 million in Ohio for education research."
In the coming decade, the semiconductor industry will add 115,000 jobs in the U.S., a 33% growth, Jim Evers, the vice president and general manager for Intel Ohio, said in an earlier Advocate article. Half of those jobs are at risk of going unfilled, he said. Technicians represent 39% of those unfilled jobs, or 24,000.
In June 2023, The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), in partnership with Oxford Economics, released a study finding the United States faces a significant shortage of technicians, computer scientists, and engineers.
The report projects that the semiconductor industry’s workforce will grow by nearly 115,000 jobs by 2030, from approximately 345,000 jobs today to approximately 460,000 jobs by the end of the decade, representing 33% growth. Of these new jobs, roughly 67,000—or 58% of projected new jobs (and 80% of projected new technical jobs)—risk going unfilled at current degree completion rates.
Of the unfilled jobs, 39% will be technicians, most of whom will have certificates or two-year degrees; 35% will be engineers with four-year degrees or computer scientists; and 26% will be engineers at the master’s or PhD level.
Granville said Turner Construction is most in need of those in construction trades and skilled trades. Harman said Amazon Web Services smiles upon those with the "skill of resiliency."
"No one is perfect. We try things, and we fail. And then we try them again, until we succeed," Harman said.
Montagnese said Licking Memorial Health Systems could be facing a nursing challenge.
"A lot of the nursing population is getting closer to retirement," he said. "So there will be a lot of opportunities there, especially with growing demands for different kinds of nurses. And we have a lot of great solutions."
Harman stressed that getting a college degree is not for everyone.
"If four years of college is not for you, don't pursue it," he said. "There will still be so many opportunities available for those with a high school diploma, certificate and those attending C-TEC."
Husted said these are exciting times, with all the technology being introduced into classrooms.
"It's going to make things a lot more fun and interesting for students, combining school with work skills," he said. "By helping the STEM education workforce, everyone wins, when you get this right."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Future is now for Silicon Heartland; Johnstown opens Innovation Center
