CCBC gets big grant from Lowe's

There's been more interest among college students in building maintenance, and at least two local colleges have gotten grants to beef up their skilled-trades programs.

The Community College of Baltimore County just got a $600,000 grant from the Lowe's Foundation.

That money will go towards upgrading its programming in HVAC and building maintenance.

Their HVAC program has grown from one class of 14 students to almost 750 enrollments a year.

The program has been filled to the brim at the Catonsville campus.

"This grant will allow us to really build out our capacity,” said David Frey, coordinator of technical training at CCBC.

CCBC’s assistant dean of applied technology and logistics said he's seen more interest, especially post-pandemic, from people thinking about careers that may have been put on the back burner.