Lorain County Community College and Ohio TechNet Partners Awarded $2 Million

Lorain County Community College and partners within Ohio TechNet, a higher education manufacturing and tech consortium facilitated by LCCC, have been awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to launch the Ohio TechNet Industrial Assessment Center (IAC). The IAC, to be located at LCCC, will deliver job training for manufacturing and related in-demand occupations, including those related to electric vehicle, battery, charger, and semiconductor manufacturing. The award is part of 21 new projects selected to receive $24 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bolster the development of clean energy workforce training programs – with a focus on jobs that do not require a four-year degree – within union training programs, community colleges, and trade schools across the country.

“As states across the U.S. embrace a manufacturing shift toward processes that help small and mid-sized business save money while reducing energy waste, LCCC is proud to help lead the workforce training within the cluster-specific, in-demand manufacturing occupations that will drive this shift,” said LCCC President Marcia J. Ballinger, Ph.D.

The proposed IAC focuses on training in sectors that are drivers of Ohio’s economy; Ohio’s top jobs listing indicates there are over 27,000 new jobs arriving to the state within the fields of electric vehicle, battery and charger manufacturing, installation and maintenance industries by 2030, with more than half of these jobs in manufacturing. These jobs provide stable wages, opportunities to advance and family-sustaining benefits.

The IAC will train students in energy performance and advanced manufacturing roles. It will also provide two primary services to regional small and mid-sized manufacturers (SMMs): skilled talent needs assessments and technical assistance, building on the Ohio Manufacturing Competency Model; and smart manufacturing technical assistance using the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute’s Smart Manufacturing Acceleration Framework. Manufacturing Works, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and HHW Ohio will support project implementation, in collaboration with a network of regional and state partners.

“IAC will provide customized solutions for SMMs as part of a novel approach to supporting sustainable or smart manufacturing,” said Terri Burgess Sandu, LCCC director of talent and business innovation. “This technical assistance to SMMs will range from adopting smart manufacturing processes and technology to talent planning for business growth.”

Beyond the Ohio TechNet partners, employer and employer association who lent their support for this project include Aircraft Wheel and Brake LLC, DuPont, Lincoln Electric, Thogus Products Company, CESMII – Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, SEMI Foundation, NextFlex – Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute, ARM Institute – Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing, and Construction Employers Association.

Workforce, labor and community partners contributing to the project are OhioMeansJobs-Lorain County, OhioMeansJobs-Cuyahoga County, Fund for our Economic Future, Cleveland Builds, Cleveland State University EMDiS Entrepreneurial Manufacturer Digitization Support, Case Western Reserve University Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center, Team NEO, and numerous community-based organizations.