MVMC pursues training center in downtown

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

City council Wednesday night approved a resolution to have the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition seek a $50,000 state grant to find a home downtown for an advanced manufacturing training center.

“It would be a shared facility among the training partners,” said Jessica Borza, MVMC’s executive director.

The MVMC would work with an architectural firm to determine the best location. At this point, potential sites have not been determined, she said.

The facility would be used by Eastern Gateway Community College, Youngstown State University and the career technical centers throughout the Valley. The facility would provide entry-level programming in manufacturing and serve as a lab for engineering students at YSU, Borza said.

Therefore, the top parameter for the training center’s location would be its proximity to downtown’s universities.

That way “students can access the lab within walking distance,” she said.

The center would offer programs in advanced machining and welding, which would help fill specific skills gaps.

“This has been a long time in the works,” Borza said.

The grant would come from the Ohio Department of Development’s Local Government innovation Fund. The decision to approve the grant would come in late February, Borza said.

The MVMC, however, will pursue other financial resources to continue the feasibility study if the coalition does not receive the grant, she added.