“We’re busting at the seams, here,” said Robert Angst, training director for Butler Warren County Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Center. “We’re looking to expand our hands-on lab area and update the program to allow more space so we can start taking on more apprentices and have an updated apprenticeship model.”
He said they hired a company to seek and write grants to help with expansion and took more than a year to apply for this grant through the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Angst said there were a lot of documents, working with banks to secure funding, and working with representatives at the EDA,
“And all that work paid off,” he said.
This grant will construct the Butler Warren County Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Center (JACT), a 19,900-square-foot electrical trades training facility, and the training center will need to match dollar for dollar the $1.5 million grant. This project is expected to create 300 jobs and retain 200 jobs, and generate $20 million in private investment, according to the JATC’s grant application.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda is committed to creating good-paying jobs throughout America in the most in-demand industries and getting workers the skills they need to take advantage of those jobs,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA investment will support workforce development in essential technical jobs, diversify the local economy, and boost regional economic resilience in Ohio.”
The EDA stated this partnership will increase the capacity for electrical trades apprenticeships in Butler and Warren counties preparing residents for good-paying, quality jobs and creating economic resilience, which Angst said is a growing field.
Liberty Twp. has not received an application for this project but confirmed there had been a couple “very preliminary” conversations on this project, said township Administrator Caroline McKinney. There will need to be a zone change on the property, which McKinney said would be a planned unit development process that could take upwards of six months.
Angst said once they navigate the zoning process, and if it’s approved, it could take eight to 12 months to construct.
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