UC Clermont awarded $250,000 manufacturing grant by Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded UC Clermont College a $250,000 grant for the college’s Manufacturing Technology Center.
A check will be presented to the college by the Appalachian Regional Commission on Friday, Sept. 28 at 9:30 a.m. at UC East, located at 1981 James Sauls Sr. Dr. (formerly Front Wheel Dr.) in Batavia. All are invited to attend.
UC Clermont College will receive new federal resources to train 100 workers for jobs in advanced manufacturing.
“Our goal is for The Manufacturing Center to become the training and education hub for southwest Ohio with its ideal location and state-of-the-art equipment," said UC Clermont College Dean Greg Sojka.
"We invite inquiries from other manufacturers interested in forming education/workforce training partnerships in this institutional center of excellence. We are proud to play a role in the manufacturing rebound in a state once known for its manufacturing prowess.”
Statistics in the Greater Cincinnati region show that 9,000 of 16,000 jobs created in 2011 were in the manufacturing sector.
“Despite high unemployment 8.3 percent – according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics January, 2012 – local businesses struggle to find qualified workers for in-demand jobs. This grant will help our region’s workforce grow with a one-stop hands-on facility for training,” said Assistant Dean John Nelson and co-author of the grant.
UC Clermont College has leased and transformed the 10,000 square-foot space in the former Ford Plant into Manufacturing Technology Center’s labs and classrooms. UC Clermont already leases space and offers classes in the facility called UC East. This grant will allow for additional equipment in the Manufacturing Technology Center to train more unemployed or underemployed workers for jobs in high-tech manufacturing.
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This announcement follows recent news of a machinist training pilot program partnership with Milacron Plastics Technologies Group LLC (Milacron) that began Sept. 4.
The grant will enhance and compliment this training program. Milacron sees this pilot program as having the ability to develop a training platform that can not only create a pipeline of skilled workers for Milacron, but can be accessed by other local manufacturers in years to come.
For more on the Milacron partnership, go to http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=16429.