Courtesy SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA has awarded a grant to the SkillsUSA chapter at the F. Donald Myers Education Center in Saratoga Springs, thanks to its longtime partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement.
SkillsUSA and Lowe’s have teamed up for 16 years to support career and technical education (CTE) classrooms across the nation.
The new Lowe’s grants provide eligible SkillsUSA chapters with additional programming resources including tools and equipment and construction materials for students’ hands-on learning projects, officials said. The support can also be used for materials and supplies for local community service projects SkillsUSA chapters would like to conduct but need additional support to launch.
Each eligible school applied for a grant up to $15,000. Schools are asked to focus on outcomes and the quantifiable impact data of their projects. The grants are intended for construction trades programs to prepare our future skilled workforce, as well as for lab improvements or community service.
The grant obtained by the SkillsUSA chapter at the F. Donald Myers Education Center will be used to provide the HVAC lab with upgrades and state of the art industry equipment.
“This amazing opportunity through Lowe’s provides our SkillsUSA chapters with more resources to support CTE and hands-on learning. All SkillsUSA projects are student-led and center around the development of personal skills, workplace skills and technical skills grounded in academics through the SkillsUSA Framework, so every member has an opportunity for career success,” said SkillsUSA executive director Chelle Travis. “These grants remove financial barriers to excellence and ensure that SkillsUSA chapters have quality resources for the betterment of our CTE programs and projects.”
“The Saratoga Housing market, not unlike other places in our country, has encountered a severe shortage of skilled trade workers,” said said Michele Morris, SKillsUSA chapter advisor at the F. Donald Myers Education Center. “Our CTE programs work closely with our community businesses through internships/work placements to ensure that classroom instruction combined with work placements make for the right employee within the right company.
“Equipment that is used in the industry must match that which is being used in the classroom. HVAC equipment is often expensive to obtain and upgrade, thereby grants of this nature allow us to upgrade our classroom tools and equipment using the newest technology. This allows us to serve both students and the community to the best of our ability.”
A total of 43 SkillsUSA chapters in 22 states were awarded grants.
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers ensure schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job.
SkillsUSA has members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education
For more information: www.skillsusa.org.