DAYTON – The Ohio Manufacturing Workforce Partnership has been awarded an apprenticeship grant of $12 million from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The purpose of the grant is to implement and expand industry-recognized apprenticeship programs statewide and nationally.

The OMWP is led by the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and Ohio TechNet, a consortium of community colleges across the state, and includes 12 regional sector partnerships that represent manufacturing businesses throughout the state, 26 institutions of higher education and seven state agencies.

The Dayton Region Manufacturers Association is the leader of this regions’ sector partnership, called the Dayton Region Manufacturing Workforce Partnership. As so, DRMA also is the leader on the Dayton region’s portion of the grant along with partners Clark State and Sinclair community colleges. The Dayton region’s portion of the grant is $500,000 over the four years of the grant.

“Workforce is a major issue in the Dayton region, and we at Sinclair Community College are passionate about helping improve it,” said Tony Ponder, dean of Sinclair’s science, mathematics and engineering division. “We have dedicated faculty and staff and are committed to providing more students the ability to ‘work and learn’ through apprenticeships and internships in order to better support the manufacturing industry in our region.”

Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State added, “The manufacturing workforce has reached new levels of technical expertise, and it needs strong technical, collaborative and problem-solving skills in order to increase productivity and address complex issues. Clark State has kept a laser focus on training and manufacturing. This industry is the key to our region’s growth.”

The grant will allow Clark State and Sinclair to produce 365 credentialed workers over the four-year grant period. They will create two new apprenticeship programs and expand five of their existing programs.

DRMA will have 150 employers engaged resulting in employment for those students who have completed their program. The top occupations that are targeted for this grant are production, machinist, industrial maintenance technician and welder.

To learn more about the grant and how it will be utilized, contact DRMA President Angelia Erbaugh at [email protected].