MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio - With automakers shifting from gas powered vehicles to electric vehicles in the next ten to fifteen years, the state of Ohio is trying to position itself as a leader in the rapidly expanding industry.

"We cannot leave anyone behind, so we must develop a strategy to develop talent," Lt. Governor Jon Husted said.

Tuesday, Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced the Ohio Electric Vehicle Workforce Strategy, which was created in collaboration with industry, education and workforce partners with the goal of preparing the Ohio workforce for jobs in the EV sector and advanced manufacturing industry.

"We're going to create pathways for people to enter and then grow," Husted said. "This is not just a workforce strategy for high school graduates, it is a workforce strategy for people who are already in the workforce and maybe want to get re-skilled or up-skilled. Remember, for every new battery powered car, that is one less gas powered car that we are going to be producing so we have to transition that workforce to a new workforce."

Husted says the state expects to create 25,400 jobs related to EV's by 2030 and they need to keep up the pace.

"We don't have enough people in the working age workforce, that 25 to 60 age range to fill all the jobs we are creating," Husted said. "Strategies must be developed to create bachelor's degrees we need, associates degrees we need, the industry certification or apprenticeships that we need to fill those jobs and the states that get it right will be the ones that win."

Under the strategy, the state will implement regional parternships with educational institutions, technical and career centers and apprenticeship programs. They will raise more awareness about the EV industry and work to recruit, retain and broaden the workforce talent pool.

"It's a massive movement to high tech manufacturing that is occurring in America today and Ohio is winning that but for us to sustain that advantage, we have to have a workforce," Husted said.

Husted says the state has $300 million in the budget to expand career centers which is exactly what MCCTC is doing. They're currently building a $1.1 million energy training center on campus that will include EV charging systems and other types of energy systems.

There was a reason Husted made this announcement in the Mahoning County and the Voltage Valley.

"Research identified Northeast Ohio as the most critical place, where there the most critical needs existed to build an EV workforce strategy," Husted said. "The states that get it right, the ones that win in the workforce development strategy will win in the job creation and business recruitment strategy, that is what we are trying to implement, its not just at the state level, this is implemented at the local level, community by community, region by region, that's where the action is."

Husted said this strategy is designed to let the world know that Ohio is ready to supply a workforce that can compete with anyone in the world.

"The message to the audience out there today is that there are opportunities in the space, educational pathways to gain those skills, lets get started."