A local agency dedicated to workforce development received $250,000 as part of the state’s Industry Sector Partnership Grant Program.

The Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition has already transitioned the funds to established projects.

In a news release issued Wednesday, the Ohio Department of Development selected the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition among 22 organizations to share $5 million in the agency’s sixth round of funding. This marks the fifth time the coalition garnered the award, coalition Executive Director Alex Hertzer said.

“We’ve always used this funding to support our kind of K through 12 or youth outreach initiative, knowing that building a strong workforce means training welders and machinists, and doing professional development,” Hertzer said. “It also means making sure that the students in our community are aware of manufacturing.”

Throughout the year, the coalition oversees efforts to promote the Valley’s manufacturing base. It features more than 75 members and 25 associate members.The coalition’s education, community and workforce development partners include Goodwill Industries, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, Mahoning County Workforce Development Board and the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.

The coalition has targeted Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio’s Biztown at the Eastwood Mall to receive funding. Located on the mall’s second floor, the miniature city serves as a staging area to instruct fourth through sixth graders how businesses operate and how products are marketed.

“One of the uses of the funds the MVMC is committed to having a space at the Junior Achievement BizTown,” Hertzer said. “A group of manufacturers will be coming together to show all the different career pathways that exist and understand that the Mahoning Valley is rich with manufacturing careers.”

A preapprenticeship program the coalition is piloting with the Warren City School District also will benefit from the grant, Hertzer said.

Starting late last year with a field of 300 juniors, the coalition and school district selected 10 to be in a program involving Warren-based manufacturers Ajax TOCCO Magnethermic Corp. and Warren Precision Products.

“This is what manufacturing is about,” Hertzer said. “This is the kind of money you can make. This is the opportunities that exist. And then, as the year went on, we kind of boiled that group down to who was more and more interested, to the point where we got about (10) students who were very interested in this opportunity.”

The internship programs are now underway.

“Those students are also going to be partnered with a career coach or mentor from Jobs for Ohio graduates that’ll help them navigate this new kind of environment.”

Hertzer added that the school district has committed to transporting the students.

Statewide, 22 workforce partnerships received $5,065,368.46. The collaborations focus on high-demand industries including manufacturing, construction and skilled trades, insurance, information technology, transportation and health care.

“When businesses, educators, and community organizations work together, communities grow stronger,” said Lydia Mihalik, Ohio Department of Development’s director. “Industry Sector Partnerships are helping Ohioans gain the skills employers are looking for while strengthening workforce pipelines in industries that are critical to Ohio’s economy. That collaboration is creating long-term opportunities for employees and employers alike.”

Since 2019, Ohio has invested in 121 Industry Sector Partnerships, representing 77 unique organizations and totaling $22.7 million in support.