COLUMBUS, Ohio—Promoting President Joe Biden’s “Investing in America” tour, First Lady Jill Biden launched the “Biden Workforce Hub Initiative” on July 12 in Ohio’s capital city.
The workforce hub is designed to bring together leaders and stakeholders in education, government, private sector companies, and unions to train employees for jobs created by projects like Intel’s semiconductor plant in central Ohio, Ms. Biden said.
The Biden administration selected Columbus and four other cities in May as a workforce hub. Baltimore, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Augusta, Georgia, are the other cities.
Ms. Biden said that her husband’s leadership has “helped transform our economy with more than 13 million jobs created” and “unemployment under four percent.”
“A job is about more than a paycheck,” she told a gathering of workforce leaders and students at Columbus City Hall. “It’s a path—a way to build the lives we want. And everyone deserves the chance to do just that.”
Intel’s $20 billion planned chip factory in suburban Columbus and Honda’s move to designate Ohio an electric vehicle manufacturing hub are among the investments that Ms. Biden highlighted and linked to Mr. Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
Local elected officials, union leaders, an Intel representative, and Columbus State Community College President David Harrison joined Ms. Biden on a panel at the event.
She announced Columbus State’s new certificate program for semiconductor technicians, which will start this fall in partnership with Intel.
Partners in the Columbus workforce hub will train at least 10,000 construction workers for expansion projects in central Ohio, the Biden administration reported. Construction worker unions are expected to expand their apprenticeship programs over the next two to four years to meet the demands.
“As a community college professor myself, I’m so excited to see how this work changes people’s lives here in Columbus and in other hub regions,” Ms. Biden explained.
Mr. Harrison talked about the collaboration between Columbus State and the Ohio Association of Community Colleges. The group is leading a statewide initiative with support from Intel called the Ohio Semiconductor Collaboration Network.
The network will address the entire supply chain, he said.
“The ecosystem of suppliers is going to be transformational to every community in the state. We are incredibly fortunate to have this kind of connection in Columbus and look forward to continuing to work with you and the administration to deliver the goods,” Mr. Harrison explained.
A White House fact sheet released before Ms. Biden’s appearance in Columbus noted that Mr. Biden’s Investing in America agenda has resulted in $31 billion in manufacturing investments in Ohio from private companies, including $20 billion from Intel for semiconductor manufacturing, $8 billion for batteries and electric vehicles, and $2 billion for clean energy manufacturing.
The Biden administration also awarded $7.2 billion for public infrastructure projects in Ohio and $1.4 billion in funding to build out broadband infrastructure across the state to expand access to “affordable, high-speed internet.”
Ms. Biden is scheduled to visit other cities designated as workforce hubs over the next few days.
“For most people, a high school diploma alone isn’t enough to find a great career. But that doesn’t mean there’s only one path to success. Students can take college courses in high school, enroll in registered apprenticeships, or earn associate degrees,” Ms. Biden said.
The Biden Education pathway, she added, includes “free, high-quality, universal preschool” and two years of “affordable community college” that opens opportunities to a four-year degree, she added.
“It’s the future of our workforce and how we strengthen the middle class,” Ms. Biden continued.
“Now hopefully, you’ve heard and will continue to hear about Bidenomics—Joe’s economic vision. Everything that I’ve talked to you about today is Bidenomics. My husband ran to rebuild the middle class and that’s what he’s doing.”
As he ramps up his 2024 re-election bid, Mr. Biden started a second round of the Investing in America tour on June 26.
The president and members of his administration are traveling around the country to highlight how his Investing in America agenda “is driving a manufacturing and clean energy boom, rebuilding America’s infrastructure, lowering costs, and creating good-paying jobs,” a White House fact sheet explained.
