TAACCCT Outcomes
Partners in building a thriving manufacturing workforceShaping future policy
OTN launched in 2014 from a $15 million Community College and Career Training Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAACCCT) grant from the United States Department of Labor. The purpose of the four-year project was to expand training programs for transitioning adults (and especially veterans), the under-employed and those impacted by foreign trade.
Successes include
- Expanded access to job-driven training for advanced manufacturing
- Transformed the way which higher education works with employers and industry-led partnerships
- Supported the launch of the Ohio manufacturing workforce roadmap, led by The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association
- Increased percentage of workers in transition who have greater awareness and exposure to careers available in manufacturing
- Strengthened the pipeline of qualified workers entering into manufacturing careers
- Provided a demand-driven structure to guide manufacturing workforce priorities
For a full summary of the impact of this investment in Ohio, please see:
With a goal of training 5,000 apprentices, OMWP is funded by a $12 million, four-year U.S. Department of Labor grant. The period of performance for this grant is July 15, 2019 – July 14, 2023.
The OMWP approach
Lorain County Community College, the facilitator of Ohio TechNet, in partnership with The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, leads the OMWP initiative, working with a statewide network of regional sector partnerships and their educational partners to meet demand for workers in these pathways:
- Production
- Machining
- Welding
- Industrial maintenance
- Automation and robotics
This grant-funded program adopts the best elements of traditional apprenticeship programs while giving manufacturers the flexibility to focus on skills and outcomes most important to their success. Businesses can decide what works best for them while meeting five requirements:
- Provide paid, work-based learning delivered by the employer.
- Offer structured, on-the-job training and mentorship.
- Provide or arrange for technical instruction relevant to approved apprenticeship pathways.
- Ensure completion of a nationally portable, industry-recognized credential.
- Meet standards for safety, supervision and equal opportunity.
For more information, please visit OMA workforce services
Meeting the talent needs of the US defense industrial supply chain
Ohio TechNet is a partner in a number of statewide initiatives designed to meet the strategic imperative identified by the U.S. Department of Defense for ensuring the talent needs of the national defense industrial supply chain.
Ohio defense manufacturing community
Led by the Ohio Development Services Agency, the State of Ohio, through a consortium of organizations including the Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA), Ohio TechNet, America Makes and Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM), was officially recognized in 2020 as a Defense Manufacturing Community through a focused effort to offer Industry 4.0 manufacturing technical assistance and workforce training for small- and mid-sized defense manufacturers, particularly those in the aerospace industry and its supply chain.
The Ohio Defense Manufacturing Community will focus on digitizing and automating existing manual processes, implementing digital command and control across the plant floor and operations, and then strengthen the regional workforce to fill the highly-skilled jobs that defense manufacturing positions require. The end result of the five-year engagement will be the nation’s premier defense manufacturing community, capable of leveraging key technologies like digital engineering and rapid prototyping to develop measurably better products, faster than the competition, with a strong, creative, and diverse workforce.
ODMC will put a special emphasis on manufacturing these key defense products – electronics, sensors, software, and aircraft – domestically using Ohio workers. Understanding that these high-tech jobs require knowledge, skills, commitment, and a vibrant workforce, the ODMC consortium will leverage the statewide Sector Partnership effort, along with other industry-led partnerships. Ohio TechNet will assist with rapid deployment and sharing of best practices across our existing consortia of education partners.
Ohio manufacturing talent for the defense industrial supply chain
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Manufacturing Engineering Education Program provided a three-year grant to Lorain County Community College, working with five Ohio TechNet partner colleges, to meet the immediate need for production and technician workers in Ohio manufacturing companies serving the defense industry while building capacity within the industry and higher education to prepare incumbent and future workers with the advanced skills needed in an increasingly high-tech environment.
Goals for this grant include demonstrating effective and replicable state-level strategies for meeting the talent and skill needs of the nation’s defense manufacturing industry. Strategies to achieve these goals include guided pathways for youth and acceleration strategies for adults. The youth program strategies will include expansion of FlexFactor, designed by partner NextFlex – America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics Innovation Institute. Adult acceleration strategies focus on training workers in emerging workforce needs related to new technologies.
Manufacturing USA Network
Ohio TechNet has partnered with a number of manufacturing innovation institutes, including LIFT, America Makes, ARM and NextFlex, to advance strategic priorities for upskilling the U.S. workforce and engage emerging talent in advanced manufacturing pathways.
