WARREN — A network of manufacturing support groups and education and training providers in northeast Ohio will benefit from a grant Ohio received to build the state’s workforce in the electric vehicle industry.

The grant for nearly $5 million will provide for training and credentialing opportunities for 700 people in 18 counties in the region.

The project, known as “Charged Up,” has the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services partnering with MAGNET (the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network) and Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and others to prepare people to work in battery production factories, according to a state release Thursday.

MAGNET, a group based in Cleveland, works to grow manufacturing across northeast Ohio, including Trumbull and Mahoning counties. The coalition is a group of manufacturers that works to develop a skilled workforce for the region.

A second nearly $5 million grant, likewise, will provide training and credentialing opportunities for 550 unemployed or underemployed people in western and central Ohio.

“Electric vehicles are a part of our country’s future, and these grants will help Ohio maintain its leadership role in the nation’s automotive manufacturing industry,” Matt Damschroder, Ohio JFS director, said. “They also will be life-changing for the Ohioans who will benefit from these opportunities to launch lifelong, family-sustaining careers in a new and growing field.”

The Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation also committed an additional $1.5 million in matching funds to support and sustain these efforts.

Ohio released its Electric Vehicle Workforce Strategy in June 2023 with input from more than 70 industry stakeholders, workforce representatives and education partners from across the state. The strategy provides a road map for filling an anticipated 25,000-plus new EV manufacturing jobs by 2030.