From Arizona
to Maine, 11 schools receive
support to scale training and remove education barriers for
sought-after trades careers
MOORESVILLE, N.C., July 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lowe's Foundation today
announced nearly $8 million in Gable
Grants to a second cohort of community and technical colleges.
Since awarding its first grants one year ago, the foundation has
assisted in expanding skilled trades career pathways through its
growing network of 35 community colleges and nonprofits in rural
and urban communities across 27 states.
"With enrollments rising at vocationally focused schools, these
community colleges are blossoming arenas for entrepreneurship and
economic mobility," said Janice Dupré, Lowe's executive vice
president of human resources and chair of the Lowe's Foundation.
"Each college has a clear, inspired vision for closing the trades
gap in its community, and we're pleased to welcome them to our
larger movement."
From funding new skilled trades facilities and instructors to
accreditation programs, the grants will support carpentry and
construction, HVAC, electrical, plumbing and appliance repair
training. These grants build on the foundation's first cohort of
community college Gable Grants announced in 2023.
The new Lowe's Foundation Gable Grants support the following
community colleges:
Baton Rouge Community College
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) will
expand its skilled trades and develop a residential plumbing
training program while establishing a state-of-the-art Construction
Trades Outdoor Learning Lab. The lab will simulate real-world
construction scenarios, allowing students to deepen their
understanding of theoretical concepts while honing practical
skills.
Central Maine Community
College (Auburn, Maine)
will expand its programming in residential electrical construction.
The grant will support new tools, machinery and lab space for
programs providing construction-based certificates and degrees, as
well as short-term workforce training.
Central Piedmont Community
College (Charlotte, North
Carolina) will significantly increase its capacity for
skilled trades training and construction-related certifications.
Infrastructure support includes renovating lab space and bringing
mobile learning cottages to other campuses and into the community.
The mobile learning cottages will remove transportation barriers
and bring new training opportunities in construction, electrical,
HVAC and plumbing training throughout Charlotte.
Community College of Baltimore
County (Baltimore) will
enhance its skilled trades programing with an expansion of the
college's HVAC and building maintenance programs. This includes
modernizing labs and equipment and expanding course offerings to
equip students with the skills they need to succeed in today's job
market.
Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation and Maricopa County Community College District
(Tempe, Arizona) will partner to
enhance skilled trades programs at three community colleges:
Mesa Community College, South Mountain Community College and Rio Salado College. Resources will be allocated for
new faculty, recruitment, stipends and upgraded training facilities
to accommodate workforce demands.
Midlands Technical College
(Columbia, South Carolina) will
expand its Building Construction Technology Program through new
training space, faculty support, tools and equipment. MTC is the
comprehensive technical college for the Midlands of South
Carolina, serving over 25,000 students annually with an
economic impact over $1 billion.
Mountwest Community and Technical College (Huntington, West Virginia) will expand
its Apprenticeship Readiness and JumpStart Pre-Apprenticeship
programs that provide dual credit to high school students. The
college will also launch a training program for students to earn
OSHA Forklift Certifications, offering six courses in its first
year.
Southeast Community
College (Lincoln, Nebraska)
will expand its UPWARD prison education program to include
construction, electrical/electromechanical, HVAC and plumbing.
These programs will be launched at the Nebraska State Penitentiary.
They will allow participants to earn credentials in multiple career
programs and return to their communities empowered to be
meaningfully employed and help meet the skilled workforce needs in
these industries.
Valencia College
(Orlando, Florida) will launch an
accelerated plumbing program designed to help individuals in
Central Florida complete training
in this high-demand field. Program graduates will earn nationally
recognized industry certifications to meet the region's skilled
trades workforce needs.
Wilkes Community College
(Wilkesboro, North Carolina) will
address the local housing shortage by enhancing its residential
Building Construction Technology program. It will also introduce an
Electrical Systems diploma this fall and expand lab space to
increase student capacity.
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (Fitzgerald, Georgia) will build a 53-foot
mobile construction trailer and hire an instructor to provide
educational training in a variety of residential and commercial
trades to graduating high school seniors, adult learners, and
individuals enrolled in Georgia
Department of Corrections education programs. The 53-foot trailer
will remove transportation barriers for hundreds of students and
host an "industry ready" program to help combat the construction
workforce shortage in rural south Georgia.
The nearly $8 million investment
is the latest in the Lowe's Foundation's five-year, $50 million commitment to support the training of
50,000 people for skilled trades careers. Since 2023, the Lowe's
Foundation has awarded over $25
million in Gable Grants to expand innovative and scalable
skilled trades training across the U.S. Last month, the Lowe's
Foundation announced a partnership with Metallica's foundation, All
Within My Hands, to benefit hundreds of skilled trades students at
five community colleges.
The next Gable Grant application cycle for community-based
nonprofits will run from Aug. 1 to Aug.
31. To learn more about the pressing challenges facing the
skilled trades, visit Lowes.com/Foundation.
About The Lowe's Foundation
The Lowe's
Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded by Lowe's
Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), is helping develop a community of
skilled tradespeople to build and revitalize our homes,
neighborhoods and infrastructure for the future. From 2023 through
2028, the Lowe's Foundation is investing $50 million to help
prepare 50,000 people for skilled trades careers through grants to
community and technical colleges, community-based nonprofit
organizations and national nonprofit partners with a strong local
presence. To learn more about the Lowe's Foundation,
visit Lowes.com/Foundation and follow
on Instagram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Media Contacts
Sebastian Hale
Lowe's Foundation
Sebastian.hale@lowes.com
Click here for a Spanish version of the press
release.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lowes-foundation-skilled-trades-workforce-investment-eclipses-25-million-through-new-cohort-of-community-and-technical-college-gable-grants-recipients-302203276.html
SOURCE Lowe’s Foundation