CINCINNATI (Sept. 9, 2025) – United Way of Greater Cincinnati is proud to announce the Year II grantees of the Future of Manufacturing Fund, made possible by the GE Aerospace Foundation. Six organizations were selected for their leadership in addressing critical gaps in the advanced manufacturing workforce and their proven, innovative approaches to scaling impact.
“With 82% of participants completing training and more than three out of four securing employment, we are proving that this initiative is creating real pathways into advanced manufacturing careers,” said Moira Weir, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Cincinnati. “This partnership is addressing a critical gap in our region’s workforce while opening doors for young people and adults transitioning careers. At its heart, this is about economic mobility, helping families move from surviving to thriving, and it’s central to our cradle-to-career strategy. By strengthening our talent pipeline, we are also making our region more competitive and resilient for the future.”
The Future of Manufacturing Fund is designed to accelerate collaborative, data-informed solutions to workforce challenges in advanced manufacturing. To date, it’s helped expose almost 4,600 individuals to advanced manufacturing careers. In its second year, the fund will deepen its focus on credentialing, job placement and employer partnerships, while continuing to strengthen the full workforce development ecosystem across the region.
“The ability to come together with others to work on different events, to connect with more employers, to connect with more students through various activities is what makes this program great,” said Riley O’Grady, who founded LEAD Training, a Year I and II grantee. “I felt like that’s the piece that is sometimes missing (before the fund was established) — that we’re not really connecting the dots; we’re working in isolation, so I felt very empowered by this process.”
Year II builds on the momentum of this three-year initiative, supported by a $1 million grant from the GE Aerospace Foundation in 2024 to expand high-quality workforce development in response to rising demand in the aviation and advanced manufacturing sectors.
“Investing in workforce development programs is part of how we lift people up in the communities where we live and work,” said Meghan Thurlow, GE Aerospace Foundation president. “We are excited to help connect the dots and maximize the impact Cincinnati workforce leaders can have throughout the area, to ensure area workers are ready to build the future of flight.”
The Future of Manufacturing Fund Year II grantees are:
- Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partnership (AMIP): Supporting WorkAdvance, which expands manufacturing workforce development through K-12 outreach, wraparound support, employer programs, technical training, credentialing and job placement to address regional workforce shortages.
- Cincinnati State: Boosting enrollment in advanced manufacturing with enhanced recruiting, hands-on demo equipment and short-term certificate programs aligned with regional hiring needs.
- Dan Beard Council, Scouting America: Scaling its Skilled Trades Education Initiative, offering youth hands-on training in welding, electrical, HVAC, robotics and connecting them to apprenticeships and manufacturing careers.
- Gateway Community & Technical College: Aligning curriculum with advanced manufacturing demands through a new coordinator role, employer partnerships, and hybrid programs like robotic welding to improve job placement.
- LEAD Training: Expanding its Manufacturing Career Coach program to guide students into STEM, pre-apprenticeships and manufacturing careers, serving 300+ youth and placing at least 75 in jobs.
- Learning Grove: Addressing the “exposure gap” through their NaviGo programming by connecting underrepresented students to advanced manufacturing careers through camps, mentoring, work-based learning and job shadowing.
ABOUT THE GE AEROSPACE FOUNDATION
The GE Aerospace Foundation, an independent charitable organization funded by GE Aerospace, complements the company’s purpose to “lift people up” in communities where employees live and work around the world. The Foundation’s philanthropic strategy and programs focus on engineering education, workforce development, and disaster relief. We also support GE Aerospace employees through programs such as Matching Gifts and STAR Awards. When GE Aerospace launched as an independent company in 2024, the GE Foundation was relaunched as the GE Aerospace Foundation, commencing a new chapter that builds on the successful, 100+ year legacy of the previous GE Foundation. Learn more at www.geaerospace.com/company/philanthropy.
