'Tis the Season for STEM Learning

Thanksgiving family gatherings are a time to reflect on the year behind us and the year ahead. Join me in putting our holiday gatherings to work with a double purpose this year.  Enjoy time together but, also, persuade those gathered to stay in Ohio or return to Ohio.  STEM jobs in manufacturing are at the heart of that convincing.  

Try a little word association with your family and friends.

STEM is the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math.  Make these holidays the season for STEM learning.

S  is for stuffing.  It’s also for science. 

Life sciences, in particular, have made huge gains in Central Ohio.  Amgen makes its medicines in new fill lines here in Western Licking County.  Pharmavite’s Nature Made brand gummy vitamins are made right here too.  [Note: It was a homesick Ohioan CEO who brought the new plant here.]

OhioMeansJobs.com shows nearly 50 job openings with these two companies among over 300 chemistry jobs within commuting time of Columbus. Science is indeed a career path in Ohio and a reason to return to a job here.

T is for turkey.  Technology is the T in STEM.

That delicious bird is the star of the season’s family dinner and technology is the star in STEM learning.  While all the technology talk for the last three years has been about Intel, the real story is that the same technology skills that a semiconductor manufacturer needs—fabrication, mechanical, industrial maintenance, and material handling—are, today, needed by growing Central Ohio manufacturers.

In our Port Authority park, manufacturing jobs have increased by 150% in the last ten years.  Reshoring of manufacturing is real and technology skills are behind every one of those new jobs.  One estimate has over 1,800 manufacturers and 89,000 jobs in manufacturing in the Columbus region.  Ohio is the third largest manufacturing state with nearly 700,000 jobs in manufacturing.

E is for that edible cranberry thing.  E is for engineering too.

Grandma brought that cranberry mold again.  Yes, it is edible.  To make that thing hold up, she put her engineering skills to work for sure.  Engineering skills are in demand and manufacturing is where it’s most in demand in Central Ohio. 

Unique engineered products are a standout in our region.  Covestro in Hebron can turn an idea at 9 into a new product line and a bag of material to make it by 5. Anduril needs both mechanical and software engineers for their products to be made in Pickaway County. A job search in Newark shows more than 8,000 jobs open with “engineering” in the title.

M is for mashed potatoes.  In STEM, it’s math.

Math is an essential part of every manufacturer’s day.  Plaskolite couldn’t deal in volumes and tolerances of its plastic sheets without math skills at its core.  Ariel compressors rely on multiple decimal points after zero levels of accuracy.  Boeing’s missile guidance systems miss their mark without precision math.

Enjoy your STEM dinner.  Partake of STEM learning talk too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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This column was submitted as a regular development column for The Dispatch and The Advocate.

Newark's Steady Population Growth Leads Ohio Cities

 

Population estimates are in.

Newark is Ohio's 16th largest city and estimated to be growing, year over year, at a steady pace. In the 2020 Census, Newark was 18th.

Newark's pace leads Ohio cities. Newark's 0.67% pace is the largest percentage growth among the Top 20 in Ohio.

Newark remains Central Ohio's second largest city and has built it's spread over the third largest city, Dublin, by more than 2,000 people.

With multi-family apartments and single-family homes under construction in Newark, the population growth steady pace can be predicted to continue.

The steady growth is a positive sign for workforce development and economic development.

The source is World Population Review's 2025 report.

Talking Points for Thanksgiving Day Table

 

There’s a lot to talk about this Thanksgiving Day.  Be careful.  It’s always true but especially true this year, politics should stay out of the table talk. 

I’m in the industrial development business as a career. I subscribe to the point of view that everyone has a role in industrial development though.  Accept my humble list of things to consider as talking points for your Thanksgiving Day turkey time.

Homesick Ohioans.  The number one illness among former Ohioans is homesickness.  The antidote may very well be served at the family Thanksgiving table.  The reasons to move back to Ohio are more and more numerous.  Visiting grandma is good.  Job opportunities are the top draw to bring people back to Ohio.

Less People Moving Out.  Out migration is something demographers track.  Trends are trending in our state’s favor.  Many will be surprised to learn that Ohio is net positive for out migration in recent years.  As a state, we’re number one in improving this measure since 2015.  Ohio ranks eighth for retaining college students.  

More People Moving In.  We have seen some anecdotal trends in the last few years of more people moving into Ohio. My mind goes to new families I’ve come to know from New Jersey, California, and Missouri among those moving here in just the last year.  One report showed 87,000 job seekers moving to Ohio since 2019.

JobsOhio has tied the Ohio “Heart of it All” campaign to successful efforts to help connect opportunities for homesick Ohioans and people new to Ohio at FindYourOhio.com.

STEM Learning.  Ohio needs to fill jobs requiring STEM skills more than ever.  STEM careers span many growing industries in Ohio. It starts before kindergarten.  I’ve found that STEM learning experiences as a family are key.  Inspiration is the key to finding that STEM career path and the higher paying job it brings.  It happens in more than just our schools.

Reshoring Manufacturing. Reshoring of manufacturing is real and Ohio is high ranking in achieving investment from manufacturers.  Despite some tough economic factors this year, the list is growing.  Behr Paint opened in Licking County in April with the ability to make seven million gallons of latex paint a year.  Joby Aviation is hiring in Dayton.  Honda/LGES nears day one in Fayette County.  Ohio is a vital part of this national trend that has truly just begun.

Energy Independence.  Manufacturers need electricity.  Ohio is at the heart of our national energy independence.  80% of U.S. energy independence is owed to three states—Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  We need to seize our strengths and emphasize that Ohio does have power.

Making Chips.  The semiconductor industry is a rollercoaster, and Ohioans have been on that rollercoaster now going on three years. Stay the course is what I say. We can’t forget that Intel is part of a ten-fold increase in investment in the chip making industry in the U.S. that is absolutely vital to our national security.

Bottom Line: The job opportunities promised, in both the high-profile projects as well as the less high-profile reshoring of manufacturing, are going to materialize over the next few years.  The end result of our collective efforts to prepare will be Ohio better seizing the opportunities that exist.  We all benefit.

It all could start at our Thanksgiving Day tables.  Happy Thanksgiving!

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This column is a regular development column for the Newark Advocate.