Jill Biden Visits Columbus State Community College

A year ago, 36-year-old Marlon Hairston was unemployed and feeling pretty low.

“I think rock bottom is when you are not able to support your children,” Hairston said. “I really feel as though I hit rock bottom.”

Then Hairston stumbled upon a job training program in logistics at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) that put him on a path to a new career. Now, he has a full-time job at ODW Logistics in Columbus.

Hairston was one of a number of CSCC graduates featured during a roundtable discussion that included Second Lady Jill Biden and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Biden and Solis are on a three day bus tour promoting an Obama administration proposal to create a new $8 billion “Community College to Career Fund.”

Hairston completed a three week job training program at CSCC called Logistic Arts. The college started the program two years ago in a partnership with local companies to meet the growing demand for logistics workers. With four railroad operations, four general aviation airports, one cargo operation, and the site of the crossroads of interstates 70 and 71, Central Ohio hosts a growing number of logistic-related businesses.

"I've seen the power of community colleges to change lives," Biden said during Wednesday’s event. "But what's extraordinary about today is that we have finally recognized that not only can community colleges change lives, they can change our country. "Quite simply, we're not getting to the future we want in America without them."

Labor Secretary Solis said more than half of all job openings over the next decade will be for "middle-skilled" workers. Jobs she described as requiring more than a high school diploma but not a four year degree. That’s the window of opportunity for community colleges.

Earlier this month, President Obama proposed the new Community College to Career Fund to promote more partnerships between community colleges and businesses and to train two million workers with skills that lead directly to jobs. The fund would be co-administered by the Department of Labor and the Department of Education.

Mike Keller, Executive Vice-President and Chief Information Officer at Nationwide Insurance said Nationwide relies on its partnerships with Columbus State and other institutions to provide the pipeline of skilled new workers. He said Columbus State stands above the others.

"Columbus State has done a better job of listening to what we need and responding, and responding with speed, and I think that's really, really critical to the partnership"

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