North Carolina businessman Mike Wade recently put the wheels in motion to create a $500,000 scholarship endowment at Southwestern Community College (SCC). It’s the single largest cash commitment in the SCC Foundation’s 50-year history.
The gift will help to support SCC students who demonstrate financial need and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better.
“Other than food and water, I feel like education is just about the most important thing you can have in your life,” Wade said. “Community colleges allow students to get an education at such a reasonable price, and Southwestern is one of the best in the country. That’s one reason I feel so good about setting up this endowment.”
The first scholarship will be awarded next fall.
Alabama
Drake State Community & Technical College is collaborating with Huntsville Utilities to introduce the Gas and Water Operation Certification Scholarship Program. Huntsville Utilities has donated $50,000 to fund the first two cohorts of the program, including scholarships for participants.
This four-week program aims to provide alternative pathways to entering the workforce and enrich the pool of potential candidates for gas and water operation careers at Huntsville Utilities and other prospective local employers.
Colorado
Thanks to a $843,750 donation, Morgan Community College (MCC) students in career and technical education programs will have a little more support.
The donation was made possible through a trust gift from an anonymous donor. Funds will be allocated towards scholarships for CTE students and will help purchase equipment to support these programs.
DOL job training grants
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority and Northern Border Regional Commission, announced more than $44 million in awards to provide career training and supportive services.
The goal of the grants is to help workers in rural areas secure good jobs in stable, high-demand occupations.
Among the grantees are a few community colleges. Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in West Virginia and Northshore Technical Community College in Louisiana will each receive nearly $1.5 million. Community College of Vermont was awarded more than $1.2 million.
Florida
Miami Dade College (MDC) will use a $1.8 million grant to establish the Construction Trade Institute (CTI) at MDC North Campus. The grant was awarded through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund.
The institute will serve as the central location for the college’s technical construction courses.
The CTI is part of MDC Builds, an initiative through the college’s School of Continuing Education and Professional Development that creates career pathways for construction jobs. It will offer courses and certifications in HVAC, welding, electrical, building maintenance, project supervision, basic construction skills, data analytics, and general contracting, among other specialties.
Currently under development with funding from the Economic Development Administration, the institute is projected to have more than 1,500 completers over a 10-year period, a 34% increase in completers entering Florida’s technical workforce.
Maryland
College of Southern Maryland (CSM) will be part of a grant project to implement professional youth apprenticeship programs.
The Institute for American Apprenticeships (IAA), which received a $1 million grant from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), is partnering with CSM and two other organizations to register three new youth apprenticeships in the state.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future requires the state to ensure that, by 2030-2031, 45% of high school graduates will complete a registered apprenticeship program or receive an industry-recognized credential.
“We are doing our part to set the tone and lay the groundwork for achieving this goal by creating a pipeline into careers in finance, human resources and cybersecurity,” said Matt McKenney, president and CEO of IAA. “Reimagining college and career pathways for Maryland’s high school students requires a partnership with school districts to help bolster the bridge from high school into good paying careers. We are investing these funds in response to market demand and funding foundational systems and processes needed to structure, sustain high-quality college, and career pathways.”
Nebraska
Thanks to a partnership with the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, Northeast Community College veterinary technology and animal science students will now use two swine simulators to provide more hands-on experience working with swine.
The Pork Producers provided the $5,653 to cover the cost of the two simulators.
The college has swine on site for part of each semester but not year-round.
“Swine have a huge biosecurity protocol,” said Northeast vet tech nstructor Dr. Kassie Wessendorf sai. “It’s shower in, shower out. Getting students out to area confinement facilities is extremely difficult because of the biosecurity risk. We don’t want those pigs to get sick or for us to accidently bring something in.”
Wessendorf said the simulators give students the opportunity to practice and become comfortable with procedures before working on live animals.
OSHA grants
Several community colleges will receive grants from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The grants, funded through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, support education and training to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, employ injury prevention and understand workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities under federal law.
In total, approximately $12.7 million in grants went to 100 non-profit organizations across the nation.
South Arkansas College will receive a $102,018 grant. The college will provide two hours of chemical hazard communication training to 600 employers and workers in the maintenance and construction industries. The targeted audience includes small businesses, minority, temporary and hard-to-reach workers.
Mohawk Valley Community College in New York will use its $55,383 grant to provide two hours of personal protective equipment training to 400 employers and workers in the construction industry. And Harper College in Illinois, which received a $159,805 grant, plans to provide two hours of warehouse safety training to 700 employers and workers in the warehouse industry.
Other grantees are Western Iowa Tech Community College ($162,000) and Texas colleges El Paso Community College District ($160,000) and South Texas College ($159,785).
Texas
With a $346,340 Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Grant, Amarillo College (AC) can acquire cutting-edge equipment essential to the redesign of its industrial technology program into an advanced manufacturing pathway that includes a specialization in automation.
AC was presented with a by leadership of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) during a September 14 ceremony. The TWC annually uses JET grants to help defray start-up costs of developing career and technical education programs for public community, state and technical college, school districts and charter schools.
Washington
Seattle Colleges will use a $750,000 grant from the Lowe’s Foundation to expand training in the Wood Technology Center. The center (a division of Seattle Central College) offers training programs for students new to the trades as well as experienced carpenters.
The grant funding will create two new positions within the center – a site manager and a staff member to help with student recruitment and job placement.
