Youngstown State University receives grant from Appalachian Regional Commission

Youngstown State University has received a $1,513,568 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. The grant will fund the university’s project, Connected Infrastructure & Industrial Cybersecurity Workforce Initiative, which will establish a connected infrastructure training hub at the YSU Excellence Training Center.

According to an article on Youngstown State University's website, Jackie Ruller, who serves as the university’s executive director of workforce education and innovation, was quoted as saying of the grant funding, “Advanced manufacturing is changing rapidly, and employers need workers who understand how the technologies within a smart factory work together, not just in isolation. This initiative allows YSU and our regional partners to bring those technologies together in a hands-on training environment, giving participants the opportunity to build skills in industrial networking, automation, robotics, cybersecurity, broadband and wireless infrastructure, and drone systems. Most importantly, we are connecting training directly to the needs of employers and creating accessible pathways to high-quality careers throughout the region.”

The YSU Excellence Training Center was established with funding from a previous round of the POWER initiative. It is a regional training facility for advanced manufacturing. With this round of funding, YSU will work alongside partner organizations in Ohio and Pennsylvania to create a highly skilled workforce trained for smart and connected factories. Partner organizations include the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, the Lawrence Mercer Manufacturers Coalition, and Jobs for Ohio Graduates.

The project will utilize short-term, hands-on credentialed training to prepare individuals to work in OT/IT systems and industrial networking; automation and connected production, including robotics, programmable logic controllers and smart systems; cybersecurity; broadband and wireless infrastructure; and drone systems supporting connected infrastructure deployment and maintenance, asset monitoring and data collection. The project will make it possible for students to learn the entire scope of operations or to focus on their desired specialty. The free training will be delivered over three years and will serve 165 students from Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio and Lawrence and Mercer counties in Pennsylvania.

The Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER initiative directs federal funding toward Appalachian coal communities to provide residents with access to economic opportunity through skilled trades education and assistance.

For more information about Youngstown State University, visit the school’s website.