CLEVELAND — Northeast Ohio is not on the list for some of the 20,000 new tech jobs Apple reports it will create over the next four years.
The tech giant announced San Diego, Seattle, New York, Bolder, Colorado, and Pittsburgh are all in line to get hundreds of new jobs through 2023.
Amy Hanauer, Executive Director with Policy Matters Ohio, believes it will take a serious investment in growing young people to make Northeast Ohio more attractive to large tech companies.
"When you look at all of the places that have gotten new high tech jobs, they all have high rates of college attainment," Hanauer said.
"These are states that are making it easier for kids to afford college, and it's paying off for them."
Professor Roland Anglin, Dean of the Cleveland State Maxine Goodman Levin Colege of Urban Affairs agrees education is critical in attracting high tech jobs to the region.
Anglin told News 5 key changes in curriculum toward high tech disciplines is needed to help bridge the gap in getting tech jobs to Cleveland.
"Well of course I'm disappointed, because I want to see this community grow, but I also know it's a process," Anglin said.
"Helping our young people in schools do better, exposing them to coding, exposing them to the multiple opportunities in the tech sector."
Anglin said he believes northeast Ohio is already starting to turn the corner when it comes to cultivating high tech jobs, pointing to a few young high tech start-up companies in the Cleveland area.
Meanwhile, Hanauer added improvements in Northeast Ohio green infrastructure, public transit and a reinvigorated commitment to renewable energy are also the seed bed for attracting tech jobs.
"Bring things back to the center, make the jobs transit accessible, invest in green, and really invest in our workforce," Hanauer said.
"It's all about education, really from cradle to career."
