LEAD Training awarded $300K for workforce programs

A Cincinnati-area nonprofit that helps students prepare for careers has received $300,000 in grants to expand workforce programs across Southwest Ohio, including a healthcare career initiative and one-on-one career coaching for thousands of students.

LEAD Training received a $250,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Development and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation’s Industry Sector Partnership Grant Program and a $50,000 grant from the PNC Charitable Trust.

The PNC funding will launch Career Quest, a new component of LEAD’s High School Workforce Initiative. The program will provide one-on-one career coaching, employability skills training, industry certifications, job placement and postsecondary education support for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged high school students.

According to a release, Career Quest will serve about 7,000 students during the 2026-27 school year at 28 schools in Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Brown counties, including Cincinnati Public Schools.

“There’s so much uncertainty for young people in our region around their career paths – we work to provide them with experiences like internships, job shadowing and pre-apprenticeships to help them decide on career pathways that they are interested in, passionate about,” said Riley O’Grady, LEAD Training’s founder and executive director.

The $250,000 state grant will expand LEAD’s Medical Pathways Partnership, which works with 23 high schools in four Ohio counties to introduce students to healthcare careers.

LEAD’s release says the funding will help expand partnerships with healthcare employers including Mercy Health, Premier Health, UC Health, The Christ Hospital, TriHealth, Otterbein SeniorLife and Twin Lakes, with a focus on entry-level and early-career jobs.

The organization said it expects to introduce 2,000 students each year over the next two years to healthcare careers, place more than 100 students annually in paid internships and convert at least 60% of those internships into full-time healthcare employment.

LEAD Training is one of 15 organizations in Ohio to receive the state funding through the Industry Sector Partnership Grant Program.

“The funding and vote of confidence from PNC Charitable Trust and the Ohio ISP will have a dramatic impact on Ohio workforce development and on the number of students that we will be able to create a real, meaningful difference for,” O’Grady said.