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    About - Work Force Development - Career Profiles - Career Resources - In the News

    The Career Path Taken Zoom Series for middle school and high school students is a series of pre-recorded Zoom sessions with young adult guests over the age of 18 who have pursued careers in IT, manufacturing, health care, or construction while in high school.  The interviews allow young adults to reflect upon their high school experiences and through that reflection provide helpful information to assist students with their experiences.  Viewers are invited after the sessions to interact with the guests through Gmail, TheCareerPathIT1@gmail.com.  Post-program questions may be related to seeking more information about career paths, building your course schedule, seeking scholarships, understanding program expectations, seeking early job placement opportunities, and gaining access to credentials earned through the training programs. The Career Path Taken Zoom Series also describes where the career path has taken them now--to a four-year degree, apprenticeship program, a two-year degree, and/or other programs and employment.

    Information Technology (IT Career Field): Kobe Ballard with Host, Hannah Bradley, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Video Media Production student. 

    Media Technology (Arts & Communication Career Field): Carolyn Bajzer shares her career path in a high school Media Technology program and discusses IT crossovers in the program in this recorded Zoom interview (approx. 60 minutes in length).

    -Frank Austin is an 18-year-old with a remarkable story of career focus and determination despite some barriers in his life. This is Austin’s story - his clear vision and work ethic inspires all who hear it.


    Explore our career profiles using the video playlist below. Click on the  icon to change videos.


    Check Out These In-Demand Career Sectors

    There are some great job opportunities in Northeast Ohio. Through data collected to analyze the availability of jobs by geographic areas of the U.S. (Labor Market Information), these are some in-demand career sectors showing the greatest number of unfilled jobs and predictions of future job growth; Manufacturing & Advanced Manufacturing, Construction & Engineering, Information Technology and Health Care. To gain an insider view of these in-demand careers, ideastream has made a collection of videos from Public Media across the U.S. for you to view below.

    1. Manufacturing & Advanced Manufacturing
    2. Construction & Engineering
    3. Information Technology
    4. Health Care

    Manufacturing & Advanced Manufacturing

    Careers in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies
    Five possible career paths in advanced manufacturing technologies: design and development; production and quality assurance; inventory and distribution; health, safety, and environment; and installation, maintenance, and repair. (by WGBH)

    Automobile Manufacturing Technology & Programmable Logic Controllers
    Examine the skills and education necessary to secure a career in advanced manufacturing technology.  Practice solving problems using logic to analyze truth tables and learn how math is used in programmable logic controllers. (by WVPB)

    Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Careers
    Engineers explain new materials development and the special systems they must create to manufacture these new materials. (by STEM Career Labs)

    Manufacturing | Career Explore Northwest
    In this series of videos, professionals in the manufacturing industry disscuss how they got their jobs, why they love working in manufacturing, what their day to day tasks look like, and the college and career experiences that led to them to their field. (by KSPS)

    Manufacturing Medicine | QUEST
    This series discusses how scientists are using synthetic biology to quickly, and inexpensively, manufacture artemisinic acid, a precursor to the drug artemisinin, which treats malaria. (by KQED)

    Career Gates: Manufacturing
    A discussion by various employees of Rexroth, Just Born Candy, Coca-Cola and Martin Guitars or what their jobs and responsibilities are. (by WLVT PBS 39)

    Exploring Careers in Manufacturing
    If you like working with technology and doing something where there is a physical product at the end of the day, then maybe the manufacturing industry is for you! (by SciTech Now)

    Advanced Manufacturing | Degrees that Work
    The program features a group of manufacturing students, who possess the hands-on, high-tech skills desired by manufacturers. (by WVIA, Pennsylvania College of Technology)

    The Manufacturing Process | What's Up in Factories?
    The manufacturing process involves taking raw materials through a variety of steps to produce a finished product. Having an efficient manufacturing process greatly affects the cost of the product to the consumer. (by Alabama Public Television)

    Career Connections | Lean Manufacturing Manager
    Watch a young manager as he describes his role at a major US company and explains how his large family, rural upbringing, engineering education, and college internships all paved his way to a successful career. (by Career Connections)

    New Trends in Manufacturing | What's Up in Factories?
    New trends in manufacturing include processes such as built-in quality, kaizen and kanban as part of the innovative concept of lean production conceived by Japanese automotive manufacturers. This video demonstrates new manufacturing trends in a Alabama Honda Manufacturing Plant. (by Alabama Public Television)

    KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia | Fast Forward
    This version is admittedly simplified. It summarize the process, starting with steel coil and finishing by shipping a brand new car out the door. All of these steps are conducted by skill-trained workers. (by GPB)

    Careers in Plastics
    Learn about career opportunities in the plastics industry in this video segment adapted from Pennsylvania College of Technology and WVIA.  (by WGBH)

    Hot Jobs: Advanced Manufacturing's High Tech Career Paths | Science Matters
    Thanks to Advanced Manufacturing — the making of products using cutting edge technology — factories all over the United States are undergoing some exciting changes. (by Science Matters Community Ideas Stations WCVE)

    Biomanufacturing Supervisor
    Hear from a Biomanufacturing Supervisor about the challenges and opportunities he faces in his factory workplace, which assembles retractable safety syringes. He explains that all assembly equipment is software driven, and that machine operators need to know how to run the program. (by WGBH)

    Welding Supervisor
    Learn about her workday of Welding Supervisor and her responsibilities in a part of the plant called body weld. While robots make 97 percent of the welds used to build vehicles in this plant, she explains that humans are needed to oversee the operation.(by WGBH)

    Nanoengineering and the Scientific Method
    Learn how the scientific method is used in the field of nanoengineering and about the career of researcher. The scientific method is used by a researcher in nanoengineering to develop new sources of energy.Examine the skills and education necessary to secure a career in advanced manufacturing technology. (By WGBH)


    Construction & Engineering

    Biomedical Engineer
    Meet a biomedical engineer, working at the intersection of medicine & engineering, developing innovative tools that measure signals generated by the human body.

    Advanced Manufacturing Engineer
    An advanced manufacturing engineer is involved in developing complete automation systems for the auto industry which includes computer-controlled mechanical systems and robotic assembly.

    Advanced Manufacturing Engineer/Scientist
    This Engineer is in Intelligent Systems Robotics & Cybernetics at Sandia National Laboratories. (by  New Mexico PBS)

    Robotics Engineer/Scientist
    Meet a Robotics Engineer in Intelligent Systems Robotics & Cybernetics at Sandia National Laboratories. (by New Mexico PBS)

    Mechanical Engineer/Scientist
    Meet a Mechanical Engineer at Sandia National Laboratories. (by New Mexico PBS)

    Meet a Mechanical Engineer/Scientist/Dr.
    Meet a Mechanical Engineer at Sandia National Laboratories.

    Chemical Engineer
    Meet a Chemical Engineer at Sandia National Laboratories. (by New Mexico PBS)

    Mechanical Engineer
    Meet a Director of Energy Technologies & System Solutions at Sandia National Laboratories. (by New Mexico PBS)

    Construction Manager | STEM Careers
    Meet a construction project manager who built roads to move sections of huge wind turbines up to a windy ridge. When completed, Bear Creek will be one of the largest commercial wind farms in the United States. (by: WPSU)

    Career Connections | Construction Worker
    Meet a construction worker who followed his father’s footsteps into a rewarding career operating large equipment like bulldozers. (by WNEO)

    Career Connections | Construction Manager
    Learn from a construction manager at a major construction firm about how drawings are made and how quality control is performed. (by WNEO)

    Journeyman Carpenter
    Meet women working in traditionally male STEM occupations and become inspired to explore careers in fields like technology, engineering, manufacturing and trades. (by: Twin Cities PBS)


    Information Technology

    Software Engineer
    Meet women working in traditionally male STEM occupations and become inspired to explore careers in fields like technology, engineering, manufacturing and trades. (by: Twin Cities PBS)

    Web Developer
    Meet women working in traditionally male STEM occupations and become inspired to explore careers in fields like technology, engineering, manufacturing and trades. (by: Twin Cities PBS)

    Energy Systems Analyst
    Meet an Energy Systems Analysis Manager at Sandia National Laboratories. (by New Mexico PBS)

    Computer Scientist
    Meet a Computer Science Researcher & Developer at Sandia National Laboratories. (by New Mexico PBS)

    Information Technology: Training & Careers
    Learn about the wide range of jobs that an information technology (IT) degree can make possible. (by WGBH)

    PBCL in an Information Technology Class
    For Problem-Based Case Learning (PBCL), student teams must develop and present solutions to real-world challenges. This type of training can lead to a career in network systems. (by WGBH)

    Information Technology: Computer Systems Engineer
    See what drove this student to become interested in computer graphics, attend community college, earn an associate's degree in computer systems engineering (CSE), and start his own information technology (IT) business. (by WGBH and Pathways to Technology)

    Information Technology Student: Technical & Network Support
    Learn about the wide range of jobs that are available to someone with a degree in information technology, or IT. (by WGBH and Pathways to Technology)

    Information Technology Student: Computer Programming & Support
    After taking, and enjoying, an online course, Hilda Villavicencio decided to study computer programming and information technology (IT) at community college. (by WGBH and Pathways to Technology)

    Marc Goldyne Uses Information Technologies to Deliver Medical Care
    Learn from this audio segment from a dermatologist who uses his computer to work with patients who live hundreds of miles away through the use of telemedicine. (by UEN)

    IT Project Manager
    Meet women working in traditionally male STEM occupations and become inspired to explore careers in fields like technology, engineering, manufacturing and trades. (by: Twin Cities PBS)


    Health Care & Allied Health Careers

    Prosthetic Specialist Cleveland
    Meet a prosthetic specialist who combines her love of art & science to create state-of-the-art prosthetic implants for the human skull.

    Motorcycles for Health
    In most parts of the United States, transportation to high-quality medical care can be readily arranged. This story is about saving lives in the West African nation of The Gambia. (by WGBH)

    Nurses Needed
    See this for an extended story from on NOW on PBS 10-16-09 about Nurses and Care. By the year 2020, a nationwide shortage of up to 500,000 trained nurses.

    Respitory Care Therapist
    Watch as a registered therapist shares how her training and two-year degree have given her the chance to play a pivotal role in any hospital. (by CET)

    Phelbotomist
    Phlebotomists are trained to make an incision in a vein with a needle to draw blood from a patient for diagnostic and other medical purposes. (by WOSU)

    Nurse Practitioner
    A nurse practitioner is able to diagnose and treat patients, establish a practice, and act independently. (by WOSU)

    Occupational Therapist
    Occupational therapists are critical in helping patients regain, develop and strengthen essential skills to function in everyday life. (by WOSU)

    Exploring Careers in Health Science
    In this video, students learn about the different careers in the medical field. When we think of the medical field, we often think of doctors and nurses. (by SciTech Now)

    Linked Learning Jumpstarts Health Careers
    Explore the ways linked learning is working for one school with this video and educational resources from PBS NewsHour from January 20, 2015. (by PBS News Hour)

    Prosthetist Dayton
    Hear a lower-limb prosthetist describe how a trip abroad put him on his career path and how emerging 3D printing technology allows him to improve the quality of life for more of his patients. (by ThinkTV)


    Ohio schools recently introduced the Ohio Means Jobs Readiness Seal as a way for students to earn additional recognition for professional skills like teamwork, punctuality, creativity, and leadership. This video below, produced for the Broadcast Educational Media Commission in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Education, explains to students the nuts and bolts of attaining this seal.

  • Contemporary art is scattered all around Northeast Ohio this summer as part of the FRONT International Triennial. In some cases, you might drive right past it. In others, you have to know where to look. We visit a handful of exhibits in Cleveland, Akron and Oberlin.

  • We asked ideastream listeners and viewers to share their memories of Blossom Music Theater as Northeast Ohio celebrates 50 years of great music at the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra. Here are just a few of the many memories you shared with us. 

  • During a visit to the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center on August 8, 2018 Dr. Norman (Ned) Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, sat down with ideastream’s Kay Colby. The discussion centered on challenges related to cancer care across the nation, as well as some key issues to address in the quest to accelerate progress in cancer research and treatment.

    Part One: Workforce Development

    One challenge stems from the nation’s aging population, often referred to as the Silver Tsunami, and the fact that risk of cancer increases with age. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), by 2030 the incidence of cancer in the U.S will increase by 45 percent creating the need for more oncologists -- especially those trained to care for elderly patients.

    Part Two: Clinical Trials 

    In the last two decades, cancer researchers have come to appreciate the fact that cancer is a collection of hundreds or even thousands of different diseases resulting from countless numbers of DNA mutations in cells. Clinical trials have had to evolve from those that treated single diseases to those that tackle the complexity of cancer. This has given rise to treatments that target specific DNA abnormalities in a patient’s tumor. The director of the National Cancer Institute says this era of “precision and personalized medicine” calls for revamping the system of conducting clinical trials to test new drugs in ways that account for this new paradigm of treatment.

    Part Three: Big Data

    Developments in cancer care remain hampered by the fact many hospital record systems are incompatible and not designed for research. Therefore, the ability to learn about factors in individual patients that may help or hamper his or her prognosis often lies buried in unharnessed piles of data. Dr. Norman (Ned) Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, says this generates a great need to create infrastructure to mine the benefits of “big data.”

    Chapter Four: Continuing Moonshot

    In his State of the Union Address in 2106, President Barack Obama appointed Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son to brain cancer, to lead an initiative known as the “Cancer Moonshot” to help accelerate progress in cancer research and treatment. The Moonshot program spotlights the need to speed up “translational research” in an effort to move scientific discoveries in the lab to timely clinical applications at the bedside. The 21st Century Cures Act enacted by Congress in December 2016 is currently funding many research grants to scientists and clinicians from the National Cancer Institute under the Moonshot program. Dr. Sharpless says that the NCI has some 50 grant announcements on its website now.

  • As part of our You First! election coverage, ideastream's Nick Castele was joined by Sam O'Leary, the president of the Lakewood City Council; Eric Moorer with the Northeast Ohio Young Black Democrats; and Diane Morgan from the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus. They discussed a range of issues that are on the minds of young left-leaning voters.

    Student debt, according to Sam O'Leary, was preventing young professionals from buying houses, starting families, and choosing to pursue lower paying non-profit jobs rather than corporate work. Eric Moorer said young African-American voters care about issues of violence and Black Lives Matter concerns. They also spoke about poverty, inequality, and access to healthcare. 

    Our next You First! Live will be Thursday, September 20, at noon with young Republicans and conservatives via Facebook and Twitter


  • Photo Gallery


    View a photo gallery from the event here.


    About the Forums


    Talking Jobs with Ohio's Next Governor was a live digital forum featuring Ohio's leading gubernatorial candidates, Richard Cordray and Mike DeWine.

    The candidates appeared individually in back-to-back segments and were allotted 45 minutes each to interact with young Ohioans and respond to their questions and comments about education, workforce development and job creation. Andy Chow of the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau served as the forum moderator.

    In conjunction with Corporation for Public Broadcasting's American Graduate initiative, Talking Jobs with Ohio’s Next Governor provided a rare opportunity for young adults across the state to engage with the leading candidates in this year’s Ohio gubernatorial race. 

    Talking Jobs with Ohio’s Next Governor is co-produced by a statewide public media collaborative of CET (Cincinnati), ideastream (Cleveland) and WOSU Public Media (Columbus).

    Highlights from the digital forum was broadcast in a special one-hour presentation on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. on WVIZ/PBS ideastream. Watch this program on-demand.


    Resources


    Press Release | Participant Guide

    Twelve Questions for Ohio's Next Governor

  • Fifty years ago – July 23, 1968, at about 8:30 at night, gunshots rang out, and in the space of a relatively few minutes, the history of Cleveland was forever changed. What became known as the Glenville shootout cost seven people their lives – three of them members of Cleveland’s police department. More than a dozen other officers, and many citizens, were injured in the subsequent firefight, which left scars on the legacy of that neighborhood; on its newly elected African American mayor; and for many years, on the city. We looked back at the Glenville shootout in this series of reports, including a look at certain events during the years that led up to that night of July 23, when violence erupted in an increasingly impoverished neighborhood, on the edge of a racially charged city.

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