Skip to main content

Features

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

orking closely with our economic development partners, the River Valley Business Solutions Group is prepared to support your successful relocation to the family friendly communities, and the vibrant business corridors west of Chicago.


      In an era when your employees’ families or partners
typically have more than one wage earner, we recognize that support
for their employment needs can be crucial to the success of your overall
relocation effort. Utilizing the considerable re-sources of the River
Valley workforce development system, we are able to proactively assist
your organization during the planning phase, and fully committed to
partnering with your management team during the relocation activity
— to offer localized employment information and job search assistance.

…Building

Stronger

Economies,

Businesses,

and Careers



      To complement your need for additional quality
employees, our workforce development system is positioned to assist
with your planning and decision-making efforts by quickly providing
current labor market information, and poised to augment your recruitment
efforts by providing an array of pre-paid staffing solutions. Partnering
with your management team, we can provide — rapid notification and
access to a large base of skilled and diverse workers who will match
your hiring qualifications, coordination of communication and staffing
support for both large-scale and smaller hiring events, scheduling assistance
for a pre-screened applicant pool, and interviewing facilities that
will support your selection activity.

     
We also work closely with business leadership, and our workforce partners in training and education — to develop, refine, and deliver training resources that enable your employees to meet their competitive skill challenges. This is reflected in our awareness that soft skills have clearly become essential skills, and in our ability to offer certificate programs that address — problem solving & critical thinking, time management, interpersonal & team skills, workplace communications, and effective work behaviors. It is further reflected in our ability to leverage a variety of training and funding resources to provide — industry specific certification programs and employer specific skill training programs that will support your business strategies.


     

     

Features

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

iotech is big, big business, and cities, counties, and
states across the United States are vying to attract what is believed
to be the most dynamic economic growth industry of the 21st century.


     
A new study by the Battelle Memorial Institute and the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) found that employment and other economic activity in the biosciences has grown dramatically in the past three years. The study revealed that all 50 states have economic development initiatives available to assist bioscience companies, and that the industry employs more than 885,000 people. Those workers in 2003 made US$26,600 more than the average private sector annual wage.

     
“This study demonstrates the tremendous, recent growth of the biosciences,” remarked BIO President Carl B. Feldbaum in a BIO announcement. “We are proud of the substantial contribution our industry is making to the nation’s economy.”

     
And that contribution is quite significant. Ernst and Young reports that biotechnology industry revenues more than quadrupled from $8 billion in 1992 to $33.6 billion in 2002. And, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports that biotechnology-related R&D expenditures amounted to $16.4 billion in 2001, about 10 percent of all U.S. industry R&D that year.

Third Frontier Has Bio In Its Sites

Look at the economic development plan of any state and you’re likely to find the words biotechnology or bioscience near the top. “With so many states vying for the attention of the biotech industry, it is a real challenge to find ways to set yourself apart,” says Bruce Johnson, state development director for the State of Ohio. “In Ohio, we’ve found success utilizing innovative programs to build upon our traditional strengths such as our research capabilities and existing competencies such as medical devices and pharmaceuticals.”

     
According to Tony Dennis, President of Omeris, a non-profit organization dedicated to biosciences in Ohio, Ohio research organizations earned $661 million in NIH funding and $80 million in NSF funding in FY 2003, a jump of 31 percent over the past three years.. Five Ohio research institutions are ranked in the top 100 in NIH funding. “What sets Ohio apart, though, is the level to which our efforts are unique collaborations between academic centers and corporations,” says Dennis. He points to the state-sponsored Wright Centers of Innovation program, which invests millions of dollars in world-class technology research and commercialization. Recent Centers include the Center For Computational Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, The Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine in Cleveland, and The Biomedical Structural, Functional and Molecular Imaging Enterprise in Columbus.

     
Efforts are paying off. Bioscience employment in the Buckeye State grew by 64 percent between 1996 and 2002, compared with national growth of 31 percent. One example of a company benefiting from Ohio’s business climate and talent pool is Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, with sales of more than $800 million. Because Ohio has an involved, dynamic corporate culture, P&G Pharmaceuticals President Mark Collar states, “We found Ohio a great place to do business.”

     
Johnson pledges continued innovation in targeting biotechnology growth. An example is Governor Bob Taft’s $1.1-billion Third Frontier project, which has pumped $221 million into research, development and commercialization efforts. Says Johnson, “The real story is that those dollars reflect our strategic focus on commercialization. In Ohio, we have a unique network of universities, private researchers and companies that together are focusing not just on research, but research with clear commercial potential. It is our firm belief that this approach will ultimately provide the greatest boost to our state’s economy and the quality of life for its citizens.”