Funds to help train workers in Ohio, Pa. for factory jobs

Staff report

washington

There will be $6 million in funding coming to the area to train workers from the Mahoning Valley and Lawrence and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania for manufacturing jobs.

The West Central Job Partnership, based in New Castle, Pa., will receive the money from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Despite Ohio’s unemployment rate of 7.5 percent, nearly 100,000 Ohio jobs remain unfilled, according to the state’s job-search website. The Labor Department notes that the Youngstown, Warren and Sharon, Pa., areas are poised for a manufacturing renaissance thanks to oil and shale-gas development but suffer from an “acute and critical” shortage of manufacturing skills.

“Manufacturing is part of what has made Ohio great. We know how to make things in our state,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. “Across Ohio, I’ve heard from business leaders in many sectors — including manufacturing — who say that they have positions to fill but can’t find workers with the right qualifications. These funds will help ensure that more Ohioans have the right skills to fulfill jobs in the manufacturing industry.”