COLUMBUS — Ohio is one of six states chosen by the National Governors Association (NGA) to participate in a project that will design education and training programs to increase the upward mobility of adult learners.

Ohio, along with Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, will use data from Strada Education Network and Gallup polling to strengthen pathways between education and careers as part of the Educate for Opportunity project. The selected states will receive financial as well as policy and technical assistance from NGA and Strada over the next 18 months as part of a $2.3 million grant from Strada.

“Our goal is to ensure Ohio’s workers are well-qualified for available jobs,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “This grant will help us make data-driven decisions to align our adult education programs with the needs of the workforce.”

Involvement in the project will help Ohio devote resources to serving students who never pursued postsecondary education or who have some college education, but never earned a degree or credential.

“I am pleased that NGA selected Ohio to be part of this important project,” said Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner. “It is our goal to make postsecondary education accessible and affordable for everyone so they can continue on a path to a successful career in their chosen field. Ohio has more than 3.5 million working-age adults who have yet to earn a postsecondary credential. In order to ensure the long-term competitiveness of our state, we need to find ways to engage more of this vital population.”

“We are thrilled to begin this crucial work with the Educate for Opportunity cohort and are confident that it will lead to meaningful progress,” said Amanda Winters, NGA’s postsecondary education program director.

Grantees will receive access to state-specific, proprietary data from the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey to help with the development of evidence-based policy solutions. The data, further specific to cities and regions, will detail consumers’ decisions about pursuing postsecondary education and their satisfaction with the value of education received after high school. The information is culled from more than 340,000 interviews with adults across the country.

Representatives from each state team will join NGA, Strada, and other policy experts on Sept. 18 in St. Louis, Missouri, for the formal launch of the project, which runs through March 1, 2021.