Chattahoochee Technical College was awarded a $750,000 grant this past week from the Lowe’s Foundation to expand training for skilled trades careers.
The funding, announced Friday, will be used to scale programs in HVAC and commercial climate control to meet rising workforce demands.
The college is one of 10 community and technical institutions nationwide selected to receive Gable Grants during this latest round of funding.
Since launching the grant program three years ago, the Lowe’s Foundation has built a network of 73 workforce development organizations operating across 30 states.
With the $750,000 award, Chattahoochee Tech will expand its HVAC and commercial climate-control training to meet labor demands in the Atlanta and northwest Georgia region.
The funding supports additional instructors, increased lab capacity and the purchase of hands-on training equipment. According to the college, many students in the program are securing employment before completing their coursework.
Janice Dupré, who serves as the executive vice president of human resources at Lowe’s and is the president and chair of the Lowe’s Foundation, emphasized the importance of a collaborative approach to workforce development.
“Over the past three years, the Lowe’s Foundation has built a national flywheel that is connecting educators, workforce organizations and community partners and strengthening the skilled trades workforce,” Dupré said. “Funding is just one part of the equation; our greatest impact comes from bringing the entire ecosystem together. We are proud to help lead this collaborative model, to train and develop skills trade professionals to serve across multiple industries and companies.”
Heather Pence, president of Chattahoochee Technical College, said the expansion of the air conditioning technology program directly supports the school’s educational goals.
“This generous grant from the Lowe’s Foundation powerfully helps to advance our mission to transform lives through contemporary education,” Pence said. “By expanding our Air Conditioning Technology program, we can prepare even more job-ready technicians who will meet critical workforce needs across the communities we serve.”
Chattahoochee Tech is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and operates nine campuses in Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Paulding and Pickens counties. The college offers associate degrees, diplomas and certificates in high-demand fields, as well as customized workforce training and Adult Education programs. Programs are designed to allow students to graduate in two years or less.
The Gable Grants support a range of trades, including carpentry, construction, electrical, plumbing and appliance repair. The Lowe’s Foundation, an independent 501(c)(three) organization, recently expanded its funding commitment after meeting its initial goals ahead of schedule. The foundation now intends to scale its workforce investment five-fold.
By 2035, the Lowe’s Foundation plans to invest $250 million to help train and develop 250,000 people for skilled trades careers. Further grant opportunities for community colleges and nonprofit organizations will be managed through the foundation’s ongoing commitment to address the skilled trades labor shortage.
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