WASHINGTON, D. C. – Akron’s chamber of commerce is getting a $3 million federal grant for an Advanced Polymer and Manufacturing Excellence workforce training program to support the region’s polymers industry.

The money for the Greater Akron Chamber is coming from the CHIPS and Science Act, said U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron, who announced the grant. It will be matched by $3 million in local money. The grant award came from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Good Jobs Challenge.

“This investment will ensure Northeast Ohio remains a global leader and trailblazer in polymer science and polymer engineering, reaffirming our district’s legacy as the Rubber Capital of the World,” said a statement from Sykes.

The grant will fund a program that creates accessible career pathways in the polymer sector by leveraging a partnership of employers, educational institutions, industry labs, and community and labor organizations to design and implement sector strategies for training and placing workers into good jobs, Sykes office said. It will advance the polymer-oriented tech hub that EDA designated in 2023.

A statement from Greater Akron Chamber President and CEO Steve Millard said the workforce initiative is “crucial to ensuring we are equipping our region’s employers with a strong pipeline of trained individuals,” and that those individuals are placed in good jobs.

“Northeast Ohio’s historical position as a leader in the polymer and manufacturing industry, coupled with our federal designation as the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub of the United States, solidifies the power of collaboration that exists within the industry in our region,” Millard’s statement said.