Grainger, North America’s leading distributor of industrial supplies and part of the Skills for America’s Future network, is involved in two major efforts aimed at current and future community college students and designed to proactively address workforce development in skilled trades. These include Grainger’s flagship effort to provide scholarships to community college students nationwide and an awareness campaign in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Grainger has contributed more than $2.0 million since 2006 to support technical education in the form of scholarships, toolkits and technical education program support and awareness. 

Fast Facts 

• Offer $400,000 a year to community students at 100 community colleges across the country
• Half of 2013 scholarships offered to military veterans 
• Partnerships with AACC and Skills for America’s Future to promote awareness of industrial trade jobs and training

How the Partnerships Work

Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program

To address the skilled labor shortage impacting the industrial trades, Grainger is investing in a future workforce through the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program, which is aimed at helping students at community colleges across the country meet college completion goals. This scholarship program awards financial assistance for tuition and books to outstanding students in their final year of study with a GPA of 3.0 or higher that are earning an associate’s degree or certificate in the fields of electrical, plumbing, welding, construction, facilities maintenance, machine technology, electronic systems, automotive repair and other industrial programs. 

For the 2013–2014 academic year, the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program is offering 100 community colleges that are members of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) across America two $2,000 scholarships for students enrolled in an industrial trades program. Currently, half of the scholarships are earmarked for students who are military veterans, in recognition of their service to our country and promotion of their skills to apply towards careers in the skilled trades.

“Grainger appreciates the contributions veterans have made to our country and their potential for service in the workplace. Industrial skilled trades are vital to keeping our infrastructure sound and our communities strong. The Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program empowers future tradespeople to complete their education and helps them start their careers.”

– Jim Ryan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Grainger 

In addition to the financial support incentive to complete community college, Grainger provides students with a customized Westward® toolkit upon graduation.  Each toolkit includes specialized professional tools for the graduating students’ skilled trade area of expertise.

American Association of Community Colleges’ Trades in Focus

After implementing the Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program, Grainger recognized there was an opportunity complement support of students already pursuing degrees in the skilled trades with an awareness campaign to attract the next generation of students and professionals. Grainger continued to partner with  AACC to promote awareness about job opportunities in the industrial trades professions and highlight the key role community colleges play as the nation’s training ground for these careers. 

In particular, this toolkit aims to:

• Spread information about the importance and value of careers in the skilled trades
• Highlight the corresponding training and skills that community colleges offer 
• Underscore the opportunities for good jobs that industrial skilled trade programs provide

The promotional partnership between Grainger and AACC has produced a series of informational templates, including communication strategies, tools and material that community colleges can use to develop their own promotional campaigns for targeted audiences such as job seekers, students, local employers, policymakers and returning veterans. It is cross-promoted, along with information on the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program, on both the AACC and Grainger Technical Education websites and the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program Facebook page. This awareness toolkit is further promoted through AACC at service opportunity centers and events like job fairs for veterans.

Benefits

Grainger’s efforts are focused on addressing the growing shortage of skilled workers while supporting the increasing technical demands of today’s industrial workplace. The diversity of Grainger’s partnerships benefits individual students and workers, as well as the wider skilled trades community. Grainger’s Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program supports community college completion goals and provides needed resources for students to successfully enter the workforce. 

Grainger’s partnership with AACC serves a more collective benefit, bringing awareness and visibility to career opportunities in skilled trades and the role of community colleges in training workers for these opportunities. Trades in Focus also serves as a platform to continue conversations and address challenges on a collective, national level. For instance, Grainger brought manufacturers, customers and recent Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship recipients together in early 2012 for a skilled labor roundtable discussion to garner perspectives on industry trends, local training challenges and opportunities and continued its work with Skills for America’s Future with an Aspen Institute Partnership in Practice roundtable in 2013 with industry, association and academic leaders to continue the focus on finding, training and placing workers in the skilled trades.

Results

Through the Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program, more than 500 community college students have received more than $1.5 million for tuition, books and tools. A significant majority of students who receive the Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship complete their degree or certificate program.

“Jobs in the skilled trades are vital to the economic health of local communities. These jobs, and the people who do them, are the lifeblood of American industry.”

– Jim Ryan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Grainger

Skills for America's Future (SAF) is a non-partisan, employer-led initiative of the Aspen Institute. It is focused on creating a national network of partnerships among employers, community colleges, industry associations and other stakeholders. These partnerships are designed to ensure that American workers receive the necessary training to meet the skill needs of employers, giving them the opporunity to obtain and keep good jobs.

For more information about how your company can partner with community colleges and Skills for America's Future, contact Rene Bryce-Laporte at rene.bryce-laporte@aspeninst.org