Supports in Career-Technical Education
Fiscal Year 2027 CTE Access Grant
The Fiscal Year 2027 Career‑Technical Education (CTE) Access Grant expands high‑quality, employer‑driven manufacturing programs for students and adults across Ohio. Developed in partnership with the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA), this two-year competitive grant helps communities build manufacturing programs designed in partnership with local employers so students learn the skills businesses need most.
The grant incorporates the OMA’s nationally recognized WorkAdvance model, which has proven effective in preparing adults, including those with untapped and career-changing talent, for high‑demand manufacturing operator roles. Its integration reflects extensive collaboration between the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and OMA leadership.
OMA has long served as Ohio’s leading manufacturing workforce intermediary, championing employer‑aligned training models, sector partnerships, and competency frameworks. Its Ohio Manufacturing Competency Model provides detailed, industry‑validated knowledge and skill expectations used statewide by manufacturers and educators.
Embedding OMA’s WorkAdvance Model into an approved CTE structure ensures:
- Employer‑driven program design, grounded in real manufacturing needs
- Alignment to the competencies Ohio manufacturers identify as most critical
- A unified system connecting K‑12, adult workforce, and employer partners
- Scalable pathways that prepare learners for high‑skill, high‑wage manufacturing careers
Award Overview
Ten Career Technical Planning Districts (CTPD) and Ohio Technical Centers have been awarded $320,000 to establish new manufacturing career-technical education programs in communities where students currently lack access to these opportunities. Each recipient will work with an OMA-endorsed Industry Sector Partnership (ISP) to develop employer-designed curricula, establish paid work-based learning opportunities, provide career coaching, and offer hands-on training closely aligned with Ohio’s workforce needs.
Award recipients will develop and launch their programs over the next two years. During the 2026-2027 school year, schools will focus on planning and development. Programs will begin serving students by the start of the 2027-2028 school year.
Grant funding will be used to support variety of program needs, including:
- Instructional staff: Hiring and onboarding new manufacturing career-technical education instructors
- Equipment and supplies: Purchasing industry-standard manufacturing equipment, instructional materials, and lab supplies
- Curriculum development: Developing curriculum aligned with employer workforce needs
- Student and family outreach: Supporting student recruitment, family engagement, and career awareness activities
- Work-based learning: Establishing paid work-based learning opportunities with manufacturing employers
- Removing barriers to participation: Providing transportation assistance to reduce the most commonly identified barriers to career-technical education participation.
Fiscal Year 2027 CTE Access Grant Awardees
Adams County Ohio Valley Local School District
- Industry Partner: BESTOhio
- Program Location: North Adams High School
- JobsOhio Region: Southeast
- Program Type: High School CTE
Apollo Career Center
- Industry Partner: Workforce Partnership of Putnam County
- Program Location: Putnam County ESC
- JobsOhio Region: Northwest
- Program Type: High School CTE
Buckeye Joint Vocational School District
- Industry Partner: TEAM Tuscarawas
- Program Location: Garaway Local Schools
- JobsOhio Region: Northeast
- Program Type: High School CTE
Cincinnati Public School District
- Industry Partner: Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partnership (AMIP)
- Program Location: Western Hills High School; Dater High School
- JobsOhio Region: Southwest
- Program Type: High School CTE
Dayton Public School District
- Industry Partner: Dayton Region Manufacturers Association (DRMA)
- Program Location: Belmont High School
- JobsOhio Region: West
- Program Type: High School CTE
Pioneer Career & Technology Center
- Industry Partner: Regional Manufacturing Coalition
- Program Location: Lexington Local Schools
- JobsOhio Region: Northeast
- Program Type: High School CTE
Switzerland Local School District
- Industry Partner: Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers' Coalition (AOMC)
- Program Location: River High School; Monroe Central High School
- JobsOhio Region: Southeast
- Program Type: High School CTE
Tri-Rivers Career Center
- Industry Partner: Central Ohio Manufacturers' Partnership (COMP)
- Program Location: Tri-Rivers Career Center (Adult Training Center)
- JobsOhio Region: Central
- Program Type: New Adult Training Program (OTC)
Tolles Career and Technical Center
- Industry Partner: Central Ohio Manufacturers' Partnership (COMP)
- Program Location: Tolles Career and Technical Center (Adult Training Center)
- JobsOhio Region: Central
- Program Type: New Adult Training Program (OTC)
U.S. Grant Career Center
- Industry Partner: Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partnership (AMIP)
- Program Location: Goshen High School
- JobsOhio Region: Southwest
- Program Type: High School CTE
See the
CTE Access Grant Fact Sheet for additional information. Direct questions about the grant to
Josh Miller.
A primary focus of the Ohio Perkins V State Plan is improving access, enrollment, engagement and performance for all students, with an intentional focus on students in special populations and subgroups.
Perkins V Special Populations
- Students from economically disadvantaged families
- Students with disabilities
- Students preparing for nontraditional fields
- English learners
- Students experiencing homelessness
- Youth who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system
- Youth with a parent in the armed forces and on active duty
- Single parents, including single pregnant women
- Out-of-workforce individuals (postsecondary only)
Recruiting Special Populations into CTE Toolkit
Students representing special population groups must have access to additional supports that could increase the enrollment and success in CTE programs. This Special Populations Toolkit supports the education community in implementing strategies that recruit and support special populations into programs that lead to high-wage, in-demand jobs.
Supports
Last Modified: 7/23/2026 2:14:15 PM