Like many midwestern states, Ohio is fighting against a brain drain as many talented young people leave for the coasts or the sunbelt. Though it’s been a challenge for employers, things could be starting to look up in Ohio, with part of the solution in the clouds — or The Cloud more specifically.

According to the decennial U.S. Census, most of the state saw significant population declines in the last ten years, especially among young people who too often see a brighter future elsewhere.

But Central Ohio is bucking this trend through a combination of tech, talent and education. We need to make sure that this good fortune benefits all of Ohio.

Cloud computing — the data warehouses that power the new information economy — combined with other tech investments are helping to bring Central Ohio prosperity, jobs and a future where our young people stay right here to live, work and raise a family.

In my leadership role with Western Governors University, which confers more IT degrees than any other school in the country — and a dad who wants to see a bright future for my son right here at home — I am excited about Ohio’s emergence as the Silicon Heartland.

But I know that this bright future is by no means guaranteed, and we all must work together to see it fully realized. I’m convinced three things are needed to make it happen:

1) Innovative partnerships between educators and employers based on a shared vision;

2) Continued commitment to education, especially programs that emphasize STEM and job skills; and

3) A new understanding of and commitment to how to grow the workforce.

Partnerships and a shared vision are a part of what got Ohio this far. Public and private partners came together to attract the transformational investment that Intel is making in their new multi-billion-dollar chip manufacturing facilities.

There was a shared vision that Ohio has the talent, natural resources and business-friendly environment to be a world tech leader.

We tell our children from an early age: you need an education to get a good job. In some ways, it’s an abstract concept for young minds. But in Ohio, the abstract has become Central Ohio.

Education has also driven our progress to date and is key to continued advancement. At Western Governors University, we partnered with Amazon Web Services in developing our online degree program in cloud computing.

This partnership will help deliver the highly skilled employees Ohio will need as AWS continues to invest in data centers in our region that are vital to the realization of the Silicon Heartland vision.

In addition, WGU was selected as an education partner for Amazon’s Career Choice program, providing Amazon’s employees full tuition to learn new skills for career success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.

Finally, there’s the need to bring more people into the workforce from every walk of life and every part of our state. It’s about diversity. There’s a lot of talk about the importance of diversity, but sometimes we’re not always clear on what it means. And it may not be obvious to you what diversity has to do with Central Ohio’s tech transformation.

Here’s how: We need to accelerate opportunities for students from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. Our success depends on helping people upskill from underserved communities to train more people for careers in today’s increasingly technology-oriented work environment. We need all hands on deck if we want the tech industry to continue to grow and prosper in our state. No one can–or should–be left behind.

The tech boom cannot simply be confined solely to Central Ohio. We need to lift all boats, all across our great state. This happens when we think creatively about how to bring training and opportunity to as many Ohioans as possible.

Ohio is on the move. We’re turning brain drain into brain gain. Let’s do this together.

Dr. K. L. Allen is chancellor of WGU Ohio, the state affiliate of online, nonprofit Western Governors University.