Josué Perez at The Newark Advocate reports a former Sears Store at the Indian Mound Mall in Heath, Ohio will have a new tenant that the City says will transform the space into a “modern training center” for Electricians and workforce development in the area. The Newark Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee purchased the space and plans to expand their operations there with classroom and lab environments that combine theory and electrical work. The facility will also have an Exploration Center with interactive exhibits, hands-on demonstrations and Pre-Apprenticeship pathways that “connect learning to high-demand and well-paying electrical careers,” City Officials said. Crews are planning to start renovating the 92,000 square-foot space in the first quarter of 2026, with tentative plans to have the first group of Apprentices starting school there in June, Newark Electrical JATC Special Project Coordinator Daryl Jones told The Advocate. “All across North America, as the business model for retail operations have evolved in the last twenty-five years, properties similar to the Indian Mound Mall have been experiencing a change in their use,” Heath Mayor Mark Johns said. “It is good to see this underused space transform and become reborn as a modern Training Center for electricians to work in our region. It will become a hub for workforce development, education, innovation and community connection.” Newark Electrical has served more than 780 Apprentices in 2025 and there’s a need for more, Jones said. The Training Committee had 25 Apprentices in 2015 but expects to have the capacity to train up to 2,000 Apprentices through the new space. The Training Committee is a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1105 and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). 

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