YOUNGSTOWN — Students in six school districts in Mahoning and Columbiana counties will be eligible to earn in-demand industry credentials through a new $100,000 grant to Youngstown State University, in partnership with the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio.

The Amplifying Ohio’s Pathways to Graduation grant from the Ohio Department of Education provides scholarships to students in East Palestine, Boardman, Struthers, Western Reserve, West Branch and Jackson Milton school districts to take courses through YSU’s Division of Workforce Education and Innovation.

Students completing the courses will earn industry-recognized credentials in areas such as advanced manufacturing, robotics, automation, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and information technology. They also will earn points toward high school graduation.

Starting this August, five to seven students from each school district will be eligible for the scholarship funding. The courses will be offered online and at the Excellence Training Center on the YSU campus. ESC counselors will work with partner schools to identify students that are at risk and connect those students to courses.

Among the courses scheduled to be offered are Certified Manufacturing Associate (CMfgA), CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+Certification, CompTIA Security+Certification Prep, Cisco Certified Network Associate Certification Prep (CCNA), YSU Advanced Manufacturing Foundations, Lean Six Sigma (Yellow Belt), Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification Prep, Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals Certification Prep, Cisco Certified Network Associate Certification Prep (CCNA), OSHA 10-hour General Industry, OSHA 30-hour General Industry, FANUC Handling Tool Operation and Programming. FANUC 2D iRVision Operation and Programming, Studio 5000 Logix Designer Level 1: ControlLogix System Fundamentals, and Studio 5000 Logix Designer Level 2: Basic Ladder Logic Programming.