On Monday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a select list of grant recipients who will be awarded federal dollars to grow the use of industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAPs) — a market-driven approach to expanding earn-and-learn opportunities. On the list was the Ohio Manufacturing Workforce Partnership, a collaboration of the OMA and its partners, Lorain County Community College and Ohio TechNet. For Ohio’s manufacturing community, this is big news. The $12 million in federal funding will be used to train 5,000 Ohioans in the manufacturing sector over the next four years. The grant comes at the perfect time for Ohio manufacturers, following the establishment of a statewide system of regional industry sector partnerships — spearheaded by the OMA to encourage collaboration and resource sharing among manufacturers and their partners. “It was this systems-level work that prepared us to submit a compelling proposal to the Department of Labor,” said OMA President Eric Burkland. See the OMA’s news release on the grant announcement. Also, here are the comments from U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown regarding this exciting news. In the coming months, we will let you know how you can get involved in this workforce development effort. 6/25/2019