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continues to fulfill its mission of building an additive manufacturing (AM) talent pipeline across the state of Ohio with the announcement of the Ohio Secondary Education Additive Manufacturing Training Network.

Created in collaboration with and support from the Ohio Development Services Agency (OSDA), this network will provide formal education and training for AM technologies to high school students and their educators to ensure the next generation of Ohio workers are equipped to work advanced manufacturing jobs. Initially, ten high schools statewide are participating in the network.

According to the 2020 Ohio Manufacturing Report by the Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and Magnet, 57 percent of Ohio’s manufacturers indicated that the skilled worker shortage is the number one challenge impeding business growth. The Ohio Manufacturing Report aligns with national findings released by a 2021 study from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, which projects that by 2030 more than 2.1 million U.S. manufacturing jobs are likely to go unfilled. Over 80 percent of those national respondents also reported that revenue growth is stagnating because of the inability to find skilled talent.

However, programs like the America Makes’ Ohio Secondary Education Additive Manufacturing Training Network can help to reverse this trend, according to The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte study. The network significantly expands training opportunities for both Ohio students and educators.

“There’s no question that our state and our nation are facing a significant skilled labor shortage and misalignment of skills and competencies,” said Josh Cramer, America Makes education and workforce development director. “We need to take action now with K-12 students, with immediate emphasis on focusing on secondary education students and empowering their educators. With the creation of the Ohio Secondary Education Additive Manufacturing Training Network, we are building that critically needed additive talent pipeline across the state of Ohio.”