Many stories illustrate the difficulty of low-wage workers to increase their incomes and enhance their quality of life. One is the story of Ken Thomas,* a custodian at a well-known Ohio manufacturing facility, who decided that he wanted to be a draftsman to increase his salary. Unfortunately, after earning his drafting certificate at a nearby adult career center, while working full-time, Ken realized that he made even less money than before. Setting his sights higher, Ken checked out the engineering technician program at his local technical college, but he was told that none of his credits were transferable, despite the fact that he'd taken many of the same courses through his drafting certificate program. Defeated, Ken returned to being a custodian.

Like Ken, the income of 1 in 4 of Ohio's working families does not meet their basic needs, though these Ohioans find themselves working 60 or more hours a week. Often, these adults are met with barriers.

In response, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, has developed the Ohio Bridges to Opportunity Initiative to give more Ohioans, especially adults who are working for low wages, access to higher education by pushing for policy change that supports their career development.

Policy makers must find new ways to boost the skills of low-wage working adults, to not only provide college access to the more than one million Ohioans who are struggling to find ways to boost their incomes, but to help all Ohioans by ensuring a strong economic future.