Battelle Center, Microsoft Seek Growth for Ohio’s Technology Workforce

Published Date March 13, 2025
News Type Public Address

Senior engineering technology student Sam Ratvasky discusses a project with fellow student Amanda Becker in the industrial automation lab on the Ohio State University Mansfield campus. Ratvasky is now using that knowledge in designing a manufacturing exhibit for a local museum.

The Battelle Center for Science, Engineering and Public Policy at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs is conducting research to engage policymakers and education leaders in new ways to grow Ohio’s technological workforce.

The study is supported by a gift from Microsoft’s Innovation + Society team for a place-based analysis of the state’s technological talent and workforce pipeline.

Battelle Center researchers will conduct neighborhood-level mapping of four-year educational enrollment and degree attainment; create an index of the economic value of that education; and examine the connection between neighborhood-level opportunity, the workforce pipeline and how the state, communities and individuals will benefit from unlocking human potential.

“By creating interactive maps of Ohio’s talent pool by neighborhood and ZIP code and generating additional data visualizations that distill information about place-based gaps in capital and economic impact using a range of Microsoft tools, we will produce data-driven recommendations for strategic investments in communities with high return on investment,” said Battelle Center Senior Researcher Lisa Frazier. 

The work aligns with broader ambitions for meeting Ohio State’s land-grant mission by helping Ohio develop its technologist workforce and artificial intelligence economy.

Technology contributes $33.7 billion estimated economic impact to Ohio or 4.6% of the state’s gross domestic product, according to CompTIA’s Cyberstates, a report on the technology workforce. Demand continues to increase for technology education. For example, between 2018 and 2023, there was 27% growth in annual degree graduates for computer engineering, with 1,094 degrees granted in 2023, according to labor market analytics company Lightcast.

Ohio’s collaborative approach to workforce development is critical to supporting the state’s evolving technology-driven economy. 

Kristina Clouse
Senior Managing Director for Talent, JobsOhio

“Some of the nation’s biggest technology companies are now based in Ohio, where innovation is rapidly transforming diverse industries, including advanced manufacturing and biopharma,” Clouse said. “With investments being made in Ohio’s three Innovation Districts and upskilling programs like TechCred, Ohio continues to prioritize building a strong talent pipeline for more than 21,000 technology sector establishments throughout the state. This study will provide valuable insight for continuous pipeline development.”

Microsoft’s Innovation + Society team is a part of the Technology for Fundamental Rights organization and partners with universities and higher education organizations to drive research-driven policy and practice that fosters innovation. Its talent-focused partnerships aim to cultivate a robust ecosystem of talent in AI and emerging technologies with the goal of broadening enrollment, graduation and participation of technologists from states’ public universities. 

“Ohio’s communities are rich with skilled individuals whose potential can drive our state’s leadership in advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence,” said Jasmine Thomas, senior director of talent policy for Microsoft's Innovation + Society. “By investing in local talent, we can strengthen Ohio’s position producing and retaining the tech workforce necessary to meet the demand for innovation and economic development, benefiting all regions across Ohio.”

 

Students like Ethan Larger, from Fort Loramie, Ohio, study mechanical engineering and learn technological skills at Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research.

To conduct the research, the Battelle Center will bring together a multidisciplinary team from across the university, including student apprentices. They will build on previous work, commissioned by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, in which Ohio State colleagues built an Urban-Suburban-Rural Opportunity Mapping tool to articulate the place-based differences in relative opportunity across the state of Ohio. 

“As a trusted voice within the state’s flagship land grant university, Ohio State’s Battelle Center has a unique platform to conduct this work and tell the place-based story of unrealized opportunity,” said Battelle Center Director Dan Kelley. “The project can engage Ohio’s leadership and other stakeholders in higher education and economic development in change-oriented discussions about the role of neighborhood investments and policy change in Ohio’s emerging tech leadership. Reframing and asking new questions about complex public problems, conducting rigorous research, and translating and disseminating findings for those empowered to make change is one of the ways we deliver on our promise to drive innovation in the public interest.”

Learn more about the Battelle Center for Science, Engineering and Public Policy.

 

Read the latest edition of Public Address, the Glenn College magazine.