The Lowe’s Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), has allocated nearly $8 million in additional Gable Grants to 10 community and technical colleges.
The Gable Grants program creates and expands partnerships with nonprofits and community colleges to increase training capacity, remove barriers to entry and connect more people with skilled trades careers. The grants are part of the Lowe’s Foundation’s expanded $250 million commitment to help train and develop 250,000 skilled tradespeople by 2035.
“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,” said Janice Dupré, Lowe’s executive vice president of human resources and president and chair of the Lowe’s Foundation. “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.”
The new cohort of Gable Grants will support the following schools:
- Chattahoochee Technical College (Marietta, Georgia) will expand HVAC and commercial climate-control training to help meet growing workforce demand in the Atlanta region.
- Dixie Technical College (St. George, Utah) will expand electrical, HVACR, and plumbing training to help meet workforce demand driven by Utah’s growing infrastructure and data center industries.
- Durham Technical Community College (Durham, North Carolina) will expand electrical, HVAC and plumbing training opportunities across Durham and Orange counties and expand bilingual instruction, Spanish-language trades courses and community-based outreach.
- Elaine P. Nunez Community College (Chalmette, Louisiana) will expand skilled trades training on its main campus and through a new temporary training site in Plaquemines Parish, supporting new training spaces, equipment and instruction for electrical, construction, HVAC and related pathways aligned with workforce demand in the port, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and defense and housing sectors.
- Houston City College (Houston, Texas) will expand electrical, carpentry, construction, HVAC and plumbing training opportunities across Houston through a model that combines neighborhood outreach, wraparound student supports and employer partnerships.
- Miami Dade College (Miami, Florida) will use its second Gable Grant to expand its successful Construction Trades Institute (CTI) model to the Homestead Campus, bringing skilled trades training to more learners in South Miami-Dade.
- Mountwest Community and Technical College (Huntington, West Virginia) will use its second Gable Grant to expand construction management and HVAC pathways, increasing access to workforce-ready training for rural learners.
- Northeast Iowa Community College (Peosta, Iowa) will expand electrical training for learners across Northeast Iowa’s 5,000-square-mile service area, where distance can be a barrier to workforce education.
- Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech) (Wichita, Kansas) will enhance skilled trades training through an outdoor live lab and tiny-home build program that replicates a real-world construction site. The grant will provide construction, electrical, HVAC and plumbing students with immersive, multi-trade learning experiences while supporting industry-recognized credentials.
- York Technical College (Rock Hill, South Carolina) will strengthen HVAC, electrical, carpentry, plumbing and appliance repair training through immersive, employer-informed learning experiences.
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