Lorain County Manufacturing Sector Partnership receives grant award (UPDATE)

The Lorain County Manufacturing Sector Partnership is one of 13 workforce agencies that split $2.58 million in grants awarded by the Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation on Thursday. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, director of the GOWT, announced the awards through the Industry Sector Partnership Grant, which "supports partnerships that help bring Ohioans into the workforce pipeline while meeting the needs of job creators and the local economy." "The awards made today support industry sector partnerships across the state as they expand best practices to help Ohioans enter the workforce in many different industries," Husted said. "These partnerships give everyone a seat at the table and require collaboration between the public and private sectors. We have seen this model succeed and will continue to invest in partnerships that prepare more students and job seekers for high-wage jobs in their regions." "This ISP grant provides the Lorain County Manufacturing Sector Partnership the opportunity to engage more manufacturers in our region, expand our outreach efforts to underserved populations, and recruit and develop the talent needed to remain competitive in this evolving digital economy," said Michael Rose, vice president of manufacturing at A.J. Rose Manufacturing Co., which is a member of the Lorain County Manufacturing Sector Partnership. "We will strengthen our efforts with Lorain County Community College, Lorain County JVS, Ohio Means Jobs Lorain County, and community organizations to grow the future skilled workforce and strengthen the regional economy." The Lorain County Manufacturing Sector Partnership was formed in 2018 by a group of companies "committed to promoting manufacturing and growing the available workforce in the region for manufacturing companies," according to its website. Industry sector partnerships are designed to develop regional workforce strategies, with the goal of driving collaboration between local businesses, education and training providers, and community stakeholders. These grants will help support the operations of both new and existing ISPs around Ohio. Ohio has invested more than $5 million in ISPs over the last two years, according to Husted's office. The first round of grants awarded 12 partnerships a total of $2.5 million in January 2021.