A workforce development initiative at Auburn Career Center for adults with developmental disabilities will be implemented thanks to a grant from the Ohio Board of Developmental Disabilities.
A $330,000 job training grant has been awarded to Auburn Career Center in Concord Township, Ohio. The grant money will be used to create a workforce development initiative for adult residents of the surrounding Geauga and Lake counties who have developmental disabilities.
Auburn Career Center is one of only four higher learning institutions that were chosen for the Pathways to Careers Program — Improving Postsecondary Education Options for Students with Developmental Disabilities program that was recently implemented by the Ohio Board of Developmental Disabilities.
The other schools selected by the program for grant money were Youngstown State University, the University of Cincinnati, and Ohio State University.
Michelle Rodewald, who serves as Auburn’s director of adult workforce education and business partnerships, was quoted in The News-Herald as she talked about how the strategic plan for the project works to create new apprenticeship prospects and credential classes, saying, “There are over 250 adults in Lake and Geauga counties with developmental disabilities who could benefit from additional post-secondary opportunities. These include students who graduated in 2020, 2021 and, 2022, plus students who will graduate or exit school during the grant period.”
She also talked about the details of the classes that will be added thanks to the grant funding, saying, “The classes that will be offered will be short-term and hands-on, and each class will lead to another class where the student could potentially earn additional, stackable, nationally-recognized credential. Courses will be designed based on the hours needed to complete the training for the credential, and an additional amount of hours to increase the time needed for students to practice the skill to gain mastery.”
The offered classes will be completely in person and will be held on the Auburn Career Center campus, although the possibility for classes to be held in other locations is available if another location better fits the needs of a group of students, as long as equipment and supplies are available at that location.
The classes will also be molded to fit the needs of the students, and Auburn plans to use a multi-pronged approach to ensure the success of the students, as explained by Rodewald: “In addition to the core team, we will also recruit and train student mentors, and these individuals will have leadership qualities and a genuine desire to help others and will assist the teacher and the students by offering emotional support and a second set of eyes for the teacher. Auburn will include business partners in every step, from the recruitment of students to work-based learning sites to employment sites.”
The core team includes the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities/Deepwood and will regularly meet to monitor the progress of the students and make any necessary adjustments to the way the classes are run.
The goal for the proposal is to create an accessible and industry recognized set of programs for at least half of the adults in the area who have developmental disabilities who finished high school in the past three years. The program aims to provide the education and training needed for the students to be able to enter into a successful career with better benefits and higher wages than they would otherwise be able to obtain.
“Success of this grant will be determined based on the number of students who find higher quality, competitive integrated employment and the number of new, inclusive employers who hire or promote students who earn credentials and begin apprenticeships,” Rodewald said.
Upon completion of the grant, Auburn Career Center plans to keep offering programming to that same pool of students with developmental disabilities.
The available classes range from pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities in manufacturing, first aid and CPR, MIG welding, Robotics, to ServSafe food handling and FANUC (Fuji Automatic Numerical Controls), and more.
Auburn is also partnering with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, OhioMeansJobs Lake County, as well as their families and students, in addition to the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities/Deepwood.
More information about Auburn Career Center can be found at the school’s website.