SBA Grant Boosts Ohio State University’s 3D Printing Workforce Development

The Ohio State University (OSU) is a powerhouse in football, and, thanks to its Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME), it is also a powerhouse in additive manufacturing (AM). I’m not sure why ‘The’ is part of the school’s name, but I like it.

I also like workforce development, and that’s one of the CDME’s greatest strengths. Through its Novel Development Program, the CDME enables undergrads to leverage the latest advances in manufacturing equipment so they can gain real-world experience in the full range of skills required to run a business, from proposal and report writing to effectively communicating in a group setting.

The CDME’s mission just got a boost from a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) program called Empower to Grow (E2G), designed to provide small businesses that are located in areas of high unemployment or low income with free workforce training and consulting services. CDME will use its E2G grant to give workers in six counties in central Ohio access to hands-on training in many different manufacturing processes, including AM.

According to the SBA, the course offerings from CDME fall into four main areas: Foundational Manufacturing Skills, Digital and Advanced Manufacturing for Assembly and Machining, Business Readiness and Modernization, and Emerging Technology Integration. One of the initiative’s most important angles is that it specifically revolves around reskilling existing manufacturing workers, an essential consideration in a business environment that Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently described as “low hiring, low firing.”

In a press release about the award of $1.1 million in SBA funds to three institutions including OSU, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said, “The SBA is focused on delivering for America’s manufacturers — the majority of whom are small businesses — by offering the capital and resources they need to rebuild America’s industrial strength.

“After walking dozens of factory floors, I’ve seen firsthand the talent and commitment that drives our entrepreneurs to deliver products and jobs — and they’re ready to expand. With targeted grant dollars that support tools and training with broad geographic reach, we are adding to a range of efforts — from new loan programs to our Onshoring Portal — that will help job creators build a future that is Made in America, by Americans.”

It’s worth noting here that the Trump administration recently released a workforce development plan via the Department of Labor, with the characteristically Trumpian name, “America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age.” Aside from the branding, the plan continues much of what was initiated by the Biden administration, like an emphasis on fast-tracked vocational training and an aim to make apprenticeships more commonplace in the U.S.

I love these types of workforce development programs: the potential ROI for society at large is so substantial when you compare it to the funding commitment involved, and new skills genuinely change people’s lives. As of the writing of this article, the U.S. looks to be headed for a government shutdown, which is a shame for many reasons, with one of those being that the SBA’s operations will largely cease.

Even if the government somehow avoids a shutdown, it’s only a matter of weeks before the whole ridiculous process starts all over again, and we can’t keep living like this! There are far too many long-term policy goals at stake for anyone to be able to tolerate the threat of a shutdown just around the corner, constantly hanging over their heads.

I find almost none of what the Trump administration does to be productive, or even respectable, and I didn’t particularly care for the Biden administration either. But it’s hard to view a government shutdown as anything but an entirely preventable net negative. Among the many things that Americans need from their government, they desperately require a thriving industrial policy that facilitates viable career paths, like manufacturing, which are achievable without a college education. The bare minimum prerequisite for that to become a sustainable reality is for the federal government to stay open.

Images courtesy of CDME unless otherwise noted