OCDA has made public policy an important cornerstone of its work.

Please Note: Policy areas are not in order of priority. Priority of these areas will shift to mirror prominent issues within the legislature.

Ohio Career Development Association Policy Platform

Adopted May 8, 2026

Vision

Every Ohioan, across all life stages and from all backgrounds, has access to meaningful career development opportunities from first job to retirement. By enacting this platform, Ohio can ensure that all residents have access to meaningful career development opportunities, supporting a strong, adaptable, and inclusive workforce. OCDA and state partners stand ready to assist legislators in implementing policies that prepare Ohioans for the evolving demands of work and life.

Constituency Groups

OCDA’s members serve individuals of all ages, from K-12 through post-retirement. They are found in every industry in Ohio in all types of organizations and are organized into seven constituency groups.

Policy Areas

1. Employment Opportunities & Job Market Adaptability

○ Promote employment pipelines that provide job opportunities for Ohioans in careers with positive growth.

○ Support state policies and programs that encourage a dynamic job market across Ohio that includes established and emerging industries.

○ Assist individuals impacted by or seeking to exit from declining sectors due to temporary or permanent market trends.

○ Provide for career development support and systems that help individuals looking to re-enter, re-align, or return within the workforce.

○ Advocate for career development, especially as it pertains to personal choice, career shifts and the options within their chosen field.

○ Strengthen Ohio’s workforce re-training and upskilling initiatives for automation, digital transformation, and changing job markets while ensuring alignment with regional workforce needs.

○ Enhance Collaboration/Improve alignment between Ohio’s labor market data and career services to match job seekers with high-opportunity occupations.

2. Student Career Services (K-12 through Higher Ed and Beyond)

○ Embed high-quality career coaching and counseling services aligned to NCDA’s best practices into Ohio’s K-12 schools, ensuring students learn in-demand skills, career literacy, career adaptability, career options, and have the hard, soft, and technical skills to navigate a changing economy.

○ Expand career service access and funding for Ohio’s community colleges, technical schools, universities, and adult education programs.

○ Encourage partnerships between all Ohio education institutions and employers with any presence in Ohio to provide internships, apprenticeships, experiential learning, work-based learning, co-op, job-shadowing, and beneficial opportunities for Ohioans.

3. Professional Accreditation & Certification Standards

○ Support Ohio policies that align with industry best practices, standards, and ethics for credentials, certifications, and degree-granting institutions for career development professionals and strengthen the quality of services delivered.

○ Promote recognition in Ohio of research-backed national career services credentialing as a benchmark for practitioners in career development roles across Ohio in schools, colleges, universities, technical schools, industry, employers, small businesses, agencies, and the public sector.

4. Access to Professional Development

○ Advocate for Ohio to invest in career services across the career development continuum that support individuals in getting, keeping, and maintaining employment while promoting Ohio’s economy.

○ Enable career development professionals to continue learning, especially regarding new technologies and digital tools, advocating for ensuring appropriate resources at each stage to engage in this development.

○ Ensure Ohio’s workforce development system is collaborative and invests in staff competencies to serve diverse populations to close system gaps negatively impacting Ohioans.

○ Provide opportunities for individuals across the education, workforce development, career development, and adjacent professions to support and access high-quality, ethical training and professional development aligned with career development theories and practices.

5. High Quality Career Service Integration with Workforce Development & Education Systems

○ Promote integrated policies in Ohio that link workforce development, education, and career development systems to support Ohioans throughout each career development stage.

○ Support Ohio legislation that fosters seamless pathways from education and training into employment and continuous learning.

○ Ensure Ohio policies, programs, and systems support the unique needs of veterans, individuals with disabilities, formerly incarcerated persons, older adults workers, and others facing employment barriers.

6. Small Business Development

○ Support Ohio policies that encourage, support, and sustain small business creation and ownership.

○ Integrate career development education and services that empower individuals across Ohio to pursue and grow in entrepreneurship.

○ Encourage tax structures, grants, and programs that prepare individuals for small business creation and sustain local economies.

7. Data Privacy & Ethical Compliance

○ Ensure Ohio’s laws, workforce, and education systems have strong protections for personally identifiable information and data in career development services.

○ Encourage Ohio professional standards for ethics in career services, aligned with the national standard of career services from the National Career Development Association’s ethics and credentialing frameworks.