Carroll Community College will establish an applied technology and trades center, funded with a $2.8 million grant from the Philip E. & Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation. Although a lease for the building that will house the program has not been finalized, the facility is expected to be operational by spring, said Kelly Koermer, vice president of Workforce, Business & Community Education at the college .
About 52% of the grant will fund student aid beginning this fall, including scholarships, stipends and tools, Koermer said.
“We have been hoping to expand into the trades area and entrepreneurship for years,” Carroll Community College President Rose Mince said. “Frankly, the campus does not have the space to allow us to do that. We have outgrown our physical space on campus, so this grant is really a turning point for us, in allowing us to offer so many additional programs that we have never been able to do.”
The new facility, soon to be unveiled, was selected because it offers the space, ventilation and utilities to support career programs, Mince said. Because the community college is relatively central in Carroll County, location was not the biggest factor considered.
About 44% of the grant will fund equipment and supplies for the trade center, Koermer said, with the rest going to personnel expenses, including the development of integrated programs to help English learners succeed in the trades and a workforce navigator to help individuals find jobs.
“We’re going to be able to hit the ground running pretty quickly,” Koermer said.
The new Ratcliffe Applied Technology and Trades Center will provide training courses for fields including welding, automotive technology, HVAC, manufacturing, plumbing, carpentry, animal grooming, and entrepreneurship. Apprenticeship opportunities will be a hallmark of the program’s earn-while-you-learn model, Koermer said, promptly addressing the workforce demand for more tradespersons while providing students with hands-on experience.
News of the grant has already energized local employers to reach out about new partnerships, and Koermer said the new programs will likely have a regional reach beyond the borders of Carroll County.
The programs may serve as an educational continuation for high school students who attended classes at the Carroll County Career and Technology Center. Koermer said the plumbing program will be particularly helpful in that it will now allow students to stay in-county while earning their plumbing credentials. High school students will be able to dual enroll in that program, which is now free to students and families under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
The high demand for trade and technical workers was the impetus for the expansion, Mince said, and the grant is an investment in the future.
Carroll Community College made an especially compelling case in applying for the grant, and Ratcliffe Foundation CEO Carlene Cassidy said the college was helped by its great reputation, quick rollout time for the new programs, and local employer demand for trade jobs.
The Ratcliffe Foundation, based in Annapolis, provides funds to colleges to support workforce development, with a focus on strengthening training and entrepreneurship programs for in-demand skilled trades.
“Our foundation has always been centered around job creation and local partnerships that enhance the vitality of a community,” Cassidy said, “and part of that is building in-demand jobs.”
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