The gap between workforce policy ambition and the infrastructure that’s needed to make it a reality is a defining story in American workforce policy. Ohio is an example of this problem and the pathway to solving it.
Last year, about 9,000 Ohio high school students earned a retail sales and customer service credential. State records show employers were looking to fill exactly three jobs statewide that required it. Another 4,000 students earned a stack of emergency management credentials for a field with fewer than 300 openings.
These students didn’t do anything wrong. The problem belonged to a state that built an enormous credentialing system far before it had the tools and data infrastructure to know which credentials were worth earning.
Since 2019, Ohio has allowed high school students to earn a diploma by completing career and technical education coursework and receiving an industry-recognized credential rather than passing a state test. Students responded rationally, with credential attainment rising from 53,000 in 2019 to 170,000 in 2024.
