And right now, I have the privilege of interviewing the director of the Ohio Department of Development, Lydia michalek.

Lydia, it's great to have you on business live 3060.

Lydia Mihalik: Thank you so much.

This is so excitin and what a great space I know.

Kristi: Here we are at the HQ of Owens-Illinois.

So great to be at the headquarters.

Lydia Mihalik: I thank you so much for having me.

Kristi: Youre doing such great things at the state of Ohio, and we really would love to talk more with you about some of the investment that you have made in innovation and business.

Lydia Mihalik: Sure.

So, in this last round of budgets, the governor, governor DeWine Lieutenant Governor Hugh Stead prioritized innovation and the creation of innovation hubs all around the state of Ohio.

We've had some tremendous success in our major big cities and each area focusing on something that's really unique to those specific, spaces.

And now we're able to extend that investment in the development of these innovation hubs in Ohio's mid-size cities, in Ohio's legacy cities.

So to speak.

Kristi: So let's pull back and look at some of the broad goals for the state of Ohio and what you're looking at in your particular Department of Development.

And then I want to drill down a little bit more.

Lydia Mihalik: From the beginning.

We've really been focused on creating an environment throughout the state of Ohio, no matter where you happen to be, that is conduciv for private sector investment.

And quite frankly, the private sector has absolutely, taken off in a lot of really great ways.

As the lieutenant governor likes to say, you can't have made in America without Made in Ohio.

Kristi: This is true, I love that.

Lydia Mihalik: So we're doin a lot of really exciting things to help support communities, to be prepared for that private investor, investment and whether it is existing businesses in Ohio or brand new investment like the one we have in Intel, down in central Ohio there's so many exciting things happening across ou great state, and I'm just happy to be a part of it.

Kristi: And tell us a little bit more now about the commitment, specifically as it ties to innovation, the glass industry and some of this consortium.

Yeah, some of the dollars that have come in for that.

Lydia Mihalik: Yeah.

So it's a $31.5 million investment in the collaboration of these teams, bringing the private sector, several, glass industry manufacturers here in, in the region.

It's also bringing together, you know, universal ATX, Bowling Green, UT those are all working in conjunction also, with our with our two year institutions, and then, you know, the public sector, is supporting it as well.

And quite frankly, when you get all of those elements of a community working together towards a shared vision, prosperity is sure to happen.

Kristi: And glass is everywhere we look.

It absolutely staining the glass industry.

And, you know, we've talked before with some of the others that we've interviewed for this particular episode about the fac that these glass manufacturers that are a part of the consortium aren't necessarily competitors.

Lydia Mihalik: No.

Absolutely not.

They all have thei their little niche, so to speak.

And so whether you're talkin about about beverage containers or solar panels, it really runs the gamut.

And we're just really happy that they're coming together, bringing those like minded research, folks here, and then also trying to to get more talent attracted in or developed here in the region because, look, these companies can only be as strong a the people that work for them.

And so making sure that we have that talent, not only today, but well into the future i definitely a goal of this hub.

Kristi: Yes, for sure.

And tell us more about the impact this will have on private and public partnerships and collaborations within the region.

Lydia Mihalik: So it's a that's a great question, like why is it that we're doing this?

And quite frankly, we want that legacy of the glass industry to continue to to be strong, but to also to innovate, to develop the things that we need to live and work in the communities that we call home.

And when companies do well, communities do well.

And so we'll continue to see, a long, a long runway of success related to this particular hub.

Kristi And now, in addition to glass, what are some of the othe business and industry, sectors, if you will, within the stat that you see truly innovating?

Lydia Mihalik: Yeah.

So we've we've done three Innovation Hub awards.

To date, Toledo was the first.

It was the best proposal that we had.

We were really excited about that.

And I. Kristi: Love hearing.

Lydia Mihalik: That.

Well, you should, you know, as someone who is, you know, a neighbor here in northwest Ohio just to your south, a bit in Findlay.

Kristi: Former Findlay mayor.

Lydia Mihalik: That's right.

I'm, I'm really proud of what came together to get this hub, accomplished.

But it's not just in Toledo.

Dayton.

Also, it has their on mai innovation hub, really focused on the defense industry, on information technology, health care.

Those are all things that have been really strong, in the Dayton region.

And, we're lookin to see big things out of them.

And then, over on the eastern side of the state, our friends in Akron have a new polymer hub which really makes sense again, one of those cities that has a long history, in polymer, rubber, plastics, of course, a lot of tire corporations, there in that, in that particular, part of the state.

But again, legacy industry, in polymers, we want that to continue to be dominant on a global scale.

So this investment helps fuel that collaboration and give them the resource that they need to be successful.

Kristi: Now, sort of tangential to all of this is really the strategic endeavor of involving career centers and community colleges.

Tell us a little bit more about that and how the workforce of the future is truly being developed through some of these innovative endeavors.

Sure.

Lydia Mihalik: So in Ohio, we are creating jobs faster than we can find people to fill them.

And the jobs that we're creating, requir some really tech focused skills, in engineering, in health care, in science, all of those things are really important, but don't necessarily require a four year degree or an advanced degree.

And so we've been really intentiona about listening to the industry.

I think this administratio absolutely deserves recognition for actually listening to what industry needs.

And so we fill that ga to help people upskill with our, industry focused credentials, our tech focused credentials with tech cred.

Those are for incumbent workers.

So workers who may, you know, work for a particular company that are looking to get better and to raise their status, in life and support their families.

And so this, this program helps do that.

And then we also hav an individual, micro-credentials assistance program which is really for those folks, very similar to the tech grad program, but it's for those folks who may be unemployed, underemployed, or disadvantaged in some way, and they can access that credential for free at no cost to them through one of our, our, our institutions here in the state of Ohio, career and technical education has never bee more important than it is now.

This administration has been doubling dow on not only investing in people, but also the place where they get, the education.

And I'm really proud of the work that's been done today.

Kristi: I'm curious to know how the state slogan came to fruition.

Ohio, the heart of it all.

Yeah.

Lydia Mihalik: So great.

It's a it's a great, slogan.

It came back and look, we were, for several years, we encouraged Ohioans to find it here.

And we needed a transition something that, more effectively communicate to everyone, that no matter what you wanted to do in life, no matter what you wanted to experience, that you could have i all right here in Ohio directly.

Kristi: And, Hallock, thank you so much for being in business life to 360 and all of the effectiveness in what you're doin is just really showing through.

Congratulations and thanks again for being here.

Lydia Mihalik Thank you so much for having me.