Alliance for Working Together inaugurates transformation training center at Mentor – News-Herald
Construction has officially started on the Transformation Training Center at Mentor, which will be operated by the nonprofit Alliance to work together to provide training for skilled manufacturing jobs.
AWT, founded in 2002 by Roger Sustar, CEO of Fredon Corp. at Mentor, aims to support the manufacturing industry by creating STEM-focused educational programs and raising awareness of manufacturing as a much needed and viable career path.
The approximately 12,500 square foot training center will be located at 8990 Tyler Blvd., across from the Fredon facility. The new trades school is well located, joining the sixth largest manufacturing hub in the state of Ohio, located along Tyler Boulevard.
When completed, it will offer programs for K-12 students, pre-apprenticeships for high school students, and apprenticeships for the unemployed and the employed.
AWT’s board members and project sponsors were joined at the groundbreaking ceremony on August 23 by state officials such as State Senator Jerry Cirino and representative of the State Dan Troy, local leaders like Mentor City Manager Kenneth Filipiak and Lake County Commissioner John Hamercheck, and educational partners. including Morris Beverage, president of Lakeland Community College.
Juliana Petti, executive director of AWT, explained that the Transformation Training Center is the result of a broad collaboration between educators, lawmakers and businesses to ensure that Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing sector will see an influx. of skilled workers in the years to come.
“It’s everyone from small businesses that have two to 10 people, to large businesses that have 5,000 people, to the state of Ohio, to private foundations,” she said during the interview. the inauguration. “Everyone is participating in this initiative and that is why it will be successful.
State representative Jamie Callender congratulated the AWT leaders and their partners for bringing the project to fruition, and agreed that future students at the training center will be an asset in sustaining the local manufacturing industry. alive and healthy.
“The only group that has not yet been mentioned is our students, from Lake County and the Northeastern Ohio region, who will have the opportunity to enter the manufacturing field – what northeast Ohio was known for, ”Callender said.
“This building will train the next generation, and that’s what makes it so exciting to me, and the fact that everyone came together on this project – Republicans, Democrats, and manufacturers who have competing companies have come together. all come together to do it for the next generation, to ensure that Lake County remains a manufacturing hub in our country, ”he added.
Among the educational partners who helped design the transformational training center are Mentoring Schools, whose career technology students will also be able to take advantage of state-of-the-art classrooms and machinery.
“At Mentor Schools, we are excited to continue our collaboration with AWT and ensure that we are helping to train the future Ohio workforce,” explained Career Technical Education Coordinator Joe Glavan, who is also the director of the local Lake Shore Compact quarry technology consortium. “Once built, the AWT Training Center will house our advanced manufacturing program.
“Certified by Apprenticeship Ohio, students in our program can earn their machinist pre-apprenticeship diploma and then have the option of continuing their education after graduation with the AWT Apprenticeship,” said Glavan. “The AWT Training Center is a great example of what is possible when government, education and business work together effectively. “
According to Jose Casanova, director of marketing and development for Lakeland Construction Group, which was chosen to build the facility, construction is expected to be completed in less than a year.
