Advanced manufacturing CTC growth to aid Centerville, Kettering, Oakwood schools

Nick Blizzard and Eileen McClory, Dayton Daily News, Ohio
·2 min read

May 16—Work is starting on expanding a local Career Technology Center, adding advanced manufacturing space to broaden job options for Centerville, Kettering and Oakwood students.

Kettering schools is renovating its CTC, adding nearly 2,000 square feet of space to that section of Fairmont High School, said Jeff Johnson, district business services director.

The $1.24 million project is part of $2.8 million in funding for Kettering schools announced last November by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Johnson said.

"This is just another career path, an educational path for students," he said. "So, I think it's great that Kettering's able to partner with Centerville and Oakwood with these career tech programs in our schools. Advanced manufacturing is what we've been hearing about business and industry. So, we're excited to offer this program for our students."

Programs in career tech boost the many factories that operate in Dayton, Angelia Erbaugh, president of the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association, has said.

Erbaugh said about 2,500 companies in the area employ 130,000 people who make, on average, more than $80,000 per year. In 2021, the median household income was $61,938 in Ohio.

"Expanding career technical education is a major step in keeping our manufacturing industry here in this region as vital as it is today and even growing," she said.

Work will include adding two new classrooms and renovating the existing 2,400 square feet of engineering lab space to accommodate advanced manufacturing, Johnson said. The new manufacturing area should house about 25 students, he added.

The contract has been awarded to Alpha Construction of Indiana, according to Kettering school district records.

District officials have met with the contractor and all the equipment has been ordered, Johnson said. The goal is to finish the work by the first week of September and start the program in the coming school year, he added.

Fairmont's CTC added a medical assistance program in 2021 as federal labor projections showed six of the top 15 occupations with the most job growth through 2029 would be in health care or medical-related.

The demand for some of those medical business jobs is expected to increase 19% or more, with the need for nurse practitioners to jump by more than half, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.