AWT Transformation Training Center opens

The Alliance for Working Together (AWT) Foundation held its Manufacturing Day celebration with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new AWT Transformation Center in Mentor, Ohio.

The Center will provide training and pathways for Northeast Ohio’s skilled manufacturing labor force.

The AWT Foundation partnered with area manufacturing companies, and county, state, and federal legislators to create the facility.

“The opening of AWT’s Workforce Transformation Center recognizes years of hard work and planning by AWT, state, county, and local officials. These efforts have culminated in one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in Ohio for teaching the skills needed in modern manufacturing. This investment will ensure Lake County continues to be a hub of American manufacturing for generations to come.” State Representative Jamie Callender said.

The facility will provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-to-career programming for K-12 students, pre-apprenticeships for high school juniors and seniors, along with apprenticeships for those who are unemployed or incumbent workers.

State Senator Jerry Cirino said, “The AWT Workforce Transformation Center will serve our region as a resource for manufacturing training; upskilling our workforce through apprenticeships, and inspiring future innovators by engaging with students K-12.”

The AWT Foundation is in line to receive up to $930,000 throughout the next three years as part of The Ohio Manufacturers Association’s (OMA) $23.5 million award from the Economic Development Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act Good Jobs Challenge program. Ohio’s biennial state capital bill included $500,000 for the center.

“We at Mentor Schools are excited that our Advanced Manufacturing program will be relocating to its new home in the heart of the sixth largest manufacturing hub in the state of Ohio located along Tyler Boulevard,” explained the Director of Business Partnerships and Career Technical Education Coordinator Joe Glavan.

The approximately 12,600ft² training center and hub for AWT Foundation operations, at 8980 Tyler Blvd., offers a place where manufacturers in Northeast Ohio can join to share ideas, best practices, and promote rewarding manufacturing careers.

During a facility tour, AWT’s Executive Director Teresa Simons told GIE Media the equipment currently includes a Mitutoyo CMM and comparator, a half-dozen Clausing manual mills, a half-dozen Clausing manual lathes, a dozen Haas CNC programming simulators, and four Okuma vertical machining centers, one equipped with a robotic work cell.

“We’re trying to make sure we’re exposing apprentices or the high school students who are pre-apprentices to the machines they’re going to use in their jobs. That makes a big difference,” Simons said.

She added the facility lets the community know they, too, can be part of manufacturing. Additionally, the technology connected classroom space is adaptable, and available to groups for meetings.

The AWT Transformation Training Center construction is made possible by the generous donations of individuals, foundations, and companies in addition to state and federal funding.

The AWT Foundation recognizes the following individuals, organizations, companies, and foundations:

Judith A. & Roger J. Sustar
Fredon Corp.
The Catherine L. and Edward A. Lozick Foundation
STERIS Corp.
Universal Metal Products
Roll-Kraft
Component Repair Technologies (CRT)
The Wheeler Foundation
De Nora Tech
Ordnance Technology Service Inc.
Rod & Joan Howell
Matrix Tool & Machine
Habco Tool & Development Corp.
KeyBank Foundation
MUM Industries
The Murch Foundation
NTMA Foundation
Buyers Products
Lincoln Electric Foundation
Parker Hannifin Foundation
Spence Technologies
McKeever Foundation
Torque Transmission
Cleveland Foundation Lake & Geauga Fund
Shared Time Human Resources Management Inc.
National Christian Foundation Wisconsin (ORBIS)
Stratus Corp.
Wm. Sopko & Sons Co.
Eaton Corp.
Ohio Ordnance Works Inc.
2020 & 2022 State of Ohio Capital Bill
US Department of Commerce EDA Good Jobs Challenge
Cleveland Foundation
Euclid Heat Treating
Fischer Specialty Tooling
MECC
Ohio Department of Education Innovative Workforce Incentive Program
Lake Shore Compact & Mentor Public Schools
Griffin Technology Group
CTM – Communication Technology Management
The Malish Corp.
Clark Oil & Chemical
Anonymous, and two Private Foundations