FINDLAY, Ohio — Career technical students in Hancock County will soon have more options for future careers, thanks to state grants.
Millstream Career Center in Findlay currently serves more than 700 students from 15 school districts in preparing for a future career. In partnership with the University of Findlay, the career center will be launching a new program for 5G/broadband to meet the growing demand for high-speed internet.
"We're looking for the students to be able to have this skill to be able to give them a leg up on the competition, whether they choose to go straight into the workforce or they continue their education," Networking and Cyber Security instructor Gregory Johnson said. "Some of these students could even work while they're in college to get it done as well."
The new program will be launched using a $350,000 Ohio Career Technical Education Equipment Grant.
School director Pamela Hamlin said this funding will also be used to purchase interactive health training mannequins and expand classroom space.
"We don't have any classrooms left available for our students," Hamlin said. "So, we'll be knocking down some walls on the second floor here to create a classroom environment to be able to practice those skills."
This announcement comes months after Millstream was also awarded a $3.5 million Career Technical Construction Program grant to build a manufacturing lab that would host another new manufacturing program once completed.
"The manufacturers are saying 'we need workers.' So, we'll be adding a lab and providing the highest technology and equipment to give our students that real-world application," Hamlin said.
Millstream will be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for the new manufacturing bay sometime in mid-summer, with that program launching in 2026.
"We know that there are jobs created all of the time, and we need to have our students prepared for that," Hamlin said. "We look and listen to various boards and various conversations that happen around the state and then we try to bring it back to Millstream and say how can we be a part of that solution."
As for the new 5G/broadband program, it will be available for students to sign up for the upcoming fall semester.
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