The Utica Shale Academy celebrates project completion with ribbon cutting
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SALINEVILLE -- State and local officials along with community members and staff of the Utica Shale Academy in Salineville came together Friday afternoon for a luncheon and ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Connecting Communities Through Workforce Training Project.
Speakers at the event included William Watson, superintendent, Utica Shale Academy; U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli; state Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel; state Sen. Al Cutrona; Julie Needs, director, Salem Area Sustainable Opportunity Development (SOD) Center; Cathy Hergenrother, Mahoning Valley Pathways HUB; and John Carey, director of the Office of Appalachia.
Rulli and Blasdel both presented Watson with proclamations for the academy.
Watson said The Governor's Workforce of Appalachia had $500 million to spend in the Appalachian Region and they broke it into two categories, with a first and second round. Utica Shale Academy was one of four applicants in the first round and the first first-round applicant to reach completion and received $2.35 million which led to Utica Shale and the SOD Center creating training centers and partnering with Mahoning Valley Pathways HUB for certified health workers for a holistic approach to education.
The Utica Shale Academy has been in Salineville for four years. Before that, they were tied with the Southern Local School District.
According to Watkins the academy, which started in their current location with one building, now has four buildings and will soon be building a second welding facility next door to their outdoor welding lab.
"They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it really takes a whole community to create a partnership, so I am super thankful for all the people that have worked with us and hopefully they continue to," Watkins said.
Rulli said The Utica Shale Academy is bringing back and protecting the American dream by making it easier for kids to get into the workforce and be trained and certified, which will benefit Ohio. He also noted that the local area has large companies, but the area doesn't have people to staff them.
Rulli also said that in a meeting in Washington D.C. where Columbiana Gas was present, Columbiana Gas said that they need to build a pipeline from this area to the Columbus area within 10 years and he questioned how they were going to build a gas line if they don't have a workforce to do it. He told Watson they have the solution with the academy, and they were going to bridge a gap in Ohio that hasn't happened before.
Blasdel said when the Utica Shale Academy sets their mind to doing something, there is no getting in their way and that is why they were able to celebrate on Friday. She noted that the Utica Shale Connecting Communities through Workforce Training Project received the highest score out of all the first-round projects and was also the first to be completed.
"I could not be prouder to support the transformational impact that it is having here in the 79th district that I represent," Blasdel said. "More importantly, is the impact that Utica Shale graduates are having on our entire region. The Utica Shale Academy project focuses on enhancing three parts of the lives of at-risk students and their families."
Blasdel said the initiative brightens the students' future by developing employable skills, beautifies the communities through downtown revitalization projects, helps many families by assisting with housing and increases the students' access to health care.
Hergenrother said that 98 employees have upskilled through training -- 317 NC3 certifications were earned by at risk students, 85 MCCR heavy equipment certifications have been earned by students in four counties, 23 students have been referred to career training programs by three Appalachian court system, 10 families were recommended for housing, 65 students completed vaping and drug awareness classes, and six students were recommended for the mental health pathway.
Carey said he was there on behalf of Gov. Mike DeWine and said they were there to celebrate the tremendous success of the academy, which is an example for the rest of the state.
kgarabrandt@mojonews.com