Fairfield County Workforce Center to receive $500,000 from state to expand its lab

Jeff Barron, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
·2 min read

LANCASTER — Fairfield County will receive $500,000 from the state capital budget to expand the engineering technology lab at the county workforce center.

"Obviously, with Intel moving to central Ohio and our current manufacturing base that we already have and interests of Intel suppliers coming into the region there's going to be a lot more growth in manufacturing," county economic development director Rick Szabrak said. "We need to basically get more employees in the manufacturing industry and also so Ohio University and Hocking College will have a nicer lab that will help attract more students."

Baqer J. Aljabr, Program Manager of Advanced Manufacturing at Hocking College, works with some of the educational robots in one of the classrooms at the Fairfield County Workforce Center in Carroll last year.
Baqer J. Aljabr, Program Manager of Advanced Manufacturing at Hocking College, works with some of the educational robots in one of the classrooms at the Fairfield County Workforce Center in Carroll last year.

Classes at the workforce center are designed to give students an option of gaining a certificate to begin their career or to continue their education path toward a degree at Hocking College or Ohio University. Areas of focus include carpentry, electrical, HVAC, advanced manufacturing, and nursing.

The workforce center is located at 4465 Coonpath Road NW.

The lab is split up into various parts of the center. Szabrak said part of the money will toward centralizing it more.

MORE: County's workforce center receives good reviews from students and employers

"It's not the most efficient and doesn't show very well when you're trying to get students interested in a future in manufacturing," he said.

About half of the OUL engineering technology lab is on its campus. But Szabrak said its lab may move completely to the workforce center.

He said the county is talking to manufacturers about what equipment they would like to see at the school, which some of the money may go for. The money will also pay for more office space and electric upgrades at the center.

Fairfield County received $1,250,000 in total from the state funding. The workforce center's $500,000 was the largest share. Here are the others receiving money:

  • Salvation Army New Community Center - $200,000

  • Ohio & Erie Canal Restoration - $175,000

  • Lancaster Festival Upgrades - $100,000

  • Lancaster Nature Trail at AHA! - $75,000

  • Fairfield County Historical Society Goslin Room - $50,000

  • Millersport Lions Park - $50,000

  • Buckeye Lake Crystal Lagoon and Public Park - $50,000

  • Pickerington Promenade - $25,000

  • Ohio Glass Museum - $25,000

“These investments will have a tremendous impact on building and maintaining our communities in the 20th Senate District," Ohio Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, said. "From Buckeye Lake to Lancaster Festival to the Byesville Patriot Park (Guernsey County), these capital investments reflect priorities of our local community leaders."

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: County workforce center to receive $500,000 from state to expand lab