Marion Technical College is ending 2020 with an exciting announcement – opening its new location in downtown Marion at 107 North Main Street. This will provide dedicated space for MarionMade!, workforce solutions training, a small business incubator for entrepreneurs, and much more.
“Marion Tech is thrilled for the new space and new ways to serve people and companies in downtown Marion,” said Dr. Ryan McCall, President of Marion Tech. In addition, the college hopes the new site will make it more convenient and welcoming for anyone those unfamiliar with the Marion Campus on Mount Vernon Avenue.
MarionMade! will be housed in the new downtown location to promote the positive features and stories about Marion’s people, products, places, programs, and projects, ultimately seeking to increase community pride. This is an ideal location for MarionMade!, providing ease of access to the downtown business community and many dynamic organizations.
“What a great opportunity to get to hang a shingle in downtown Marion,” said Michael Augenstein, Director of Workforce Solutions for Marion Tech. “There are so many new members of downtown, from OhioHealth to the new Corner Market to new restaurants. Everything that goes down there makes it more vibrant.”
Entrepreneurism is alive and well in Marion, and small businesses just getting started will be able to rent office space at an affordable price as well as get expert advice. The Forge small business classes and competition will be held at the new location. This series of free classes for entrepreneurs and start-up companies culminates in a “Shark Tank”-style competition each year. The new business incubator builds on that outreach to local entrepreneurs, and on the MarionMade! concept of pride in our community.
The central location provides great networking opportunities for local businesses and leaders.
“Downtown Marion, Inc. highly anticipates the arrival of the Marion Tech Downtown location. We view MTC as a long-time community partner and understand that the intuitive behind the new location will be an additional force driving Marion’s economy in the right direction,” said Clarissa Myers, Board Manager with Downtown Marion. “Having both Marion Tech Downtown and the MarionMade! program located in the central hub of our community speaks to the diverse culture we are working to create in downtown Marion.”
“If you need to ‘get to next’ and it involves short-term credentials, or a custom training for a company or individual that is really targeted to your specific needs, that’s what workforce solutions does,” Augenstein said. “This is a great time to upskill your workers. It helps show you are invested in them and their career success which improves employee retention.”
Bobby Gay, Administrative Manager, Sakamura USA, Inc., stated, “My company values the customized training. We had an engineering professor come in and teach our employees. This is a great resource to help us stay competitive!”
In addition, Marion Tech Downtown will hold classes for the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy, as well as Aspire classes for those studying to get their General Education Equivalency (GED) certificate.
