Montgomery College’s New Grant Aids Students in Skilled Trades

The Montgomery College Foundation received a $95,000 grant to help students with in-demand information and skills that will lead to employment in heating, ventilation and air conditioning careers.

It is one of 10 community colleges to receive a grant from Johnson Controls Community College Partnership program.

Besides the funding, employees at Johnson Controls will volunteer and be mentors to provide students with real-world experience, internships and professional networking connections. Johnson Controls seeks to expand associate degree and certificate programs in HVAC, fire and security and digital building automation systems, which are areas the U.S. Bureau of Labor predicts will be increasing in the future.

Montgomery College will use the money for classroom materials, learning technologies and student scholarships and for academic success coaches in partnership with its Achieving the Promise Academy as well as to create a building systems automation lab in its Homer S. Gudelsky Institute for Technical Education in Rockville.

The college will use its funding to expand program marketing to local, low-income communities and hire additional faculty to serve as retention and recruitment associates.

“Johnson Controls is proud to build upon our significant presence in the city by partnering with Montgomery College on the Community College Partnership Program. We believe the program will empower people to build life-long careers that will transform their lives and the city,” said Grady Crosby, VP of Public Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer at Johnson Controls. 

“Just as smart, healthy buildings are critical to our well-being, well-educated and trained technicians are crucial to keeping our environments operating safely and efficiently. As a leader in the building industry for over a century, Johnson Controls is honored to share our expertise with the country’s leading community colleges,”  he said.

Johnson Controls is investing $15 million over five years to help expand community college associate degree and certificate programs in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), fire and security and digital building automation systems across the United States.

The Montgomery College Foundation has been awarded a $95,000 grant to be a part of the @johnsoncontrols Community College Partnership to increase enrollment & graduations in our HVAC classes in addition to funding a Building Automation Systems lab. pic.twitter.com/FOwHychWlc

— Montgomery College (@montgomerycoll) July 14, 2021

About Suzanne Pollak

Suzanne is a freelance reporter with Montgomery Community Media. She has over 35 years professional experience writing for newspapers, magazines, non-profit newsletters and the web.

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