Supporting Workforce Education

Metallica Scholars is a major workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education programs. These programs provide skills and services to students looking to enter a traditional trade or other applied learning program.
In 2019, ten colleges from across the country received $100,000 each to support more than 1,000 students training to enter the American workforce. Year one of the program proved so successful it prompted us to expand the program to 15 schools in year two (2020). We launched year three on May 25, 2021, by adding eight schools, bringing MSI to 23 schools nationwide. In year four, we proudly broadened our reach to support 32 schools in 27 states as the number of students supported grew.
On July 26, 2023, we announced the launch of year five of the Metallica Scholars Initiative. Reaffirming our commitment to career and technical education, 11 new colleges were added, and we now have programs at 42 schools in 33 states. MSI has impacted the lives of 6,000 students across the US so far.
What Is The Metallica Scholars Initiative?

How Are Schools Selected?
Partnering with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), a Washington, DC-based organization that represents the nation’s 1,103 community colleges, the Metallica Scholars awards were selected via a competitive application process and are designed to provide support of relevant job skill training for community college students, reinvest in communities that supported Metallica during its recent United States tours, and leverage the influence of Metallica to elevate the importance of career and technical education.
Which Schools Are Supported By The Metallica Scholars Program?
- Aiken Technical College - Aiken, South Carolina
- Central Community College - Grand Island, Nebraska
- Central Piedmont Community College - Charlotte, North Carolina
- Central Wyoming College - Riverton Wyoming
- Clackamas Community College - Oregon City, Oregon
- Clark State College - Springfield, Ohio
- Clinton Community College - Clinton, Iowa
- College of Lake County - Grayslake, Illinois
- Columbia Gorge Community College - The Dalles, Oregon
- Columbia State Community College - Columbia, Tennessee
- Community College of Baltimore County - Baltimore, Maryland
- East Central College - Union Missouri
- Elizabethtown Community & Technical College - Elizabethtown, Kentucky
- Front Range Community College - Westminster, Colorado
- Gateway Technical College - Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Grand Rapids Community College - Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Guilford Technical Community College - Jamestown, North Carolina
- Hudson County Community College - Jersey City, New Jersey
- Itawamba Community College - Fulton, Mississippi
- Lone Star College - The Woodlands, Texas
- Middlesex Community College - Lowell, Massachusetts
- Milwaukee Area Technical College - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College - Perkinston, Mississippi
- Northeast Wisconsin Technical College - Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale, Virginia
- Northwest-Shoals Community College - Muscle Shoals, Alabama
- Oxnard College (Ventura Community College District) - Oxnard, California
- Pima Community College - Tuscon, Arizona
- Polk State College - Winter Haven, Florida
- Rockland Community College - Suffern, New York
- Salt Lake Community College - Salt Lake City, Utah
- San Juan College – Farmington, New Mexico
- Spokane Community College - Spokane, Washington
- South Central College - North Mankato, Minnesota
- South Louisiana Community College - Lafayette, Louisiana
- Texas State Technical College - Waco, Texas
- Valencia College - Orlando, Florida
- Victor Valley College - Victorville, California
- West Virginia University Parkersburg - Parkersburg, West Virginia
- Westchester Community College - Valhalla, New York
- Western Dakota Technical College - Rapid City, South Dakota
- WSU-Tech - Wichita, Kansas
Get To Know Our Students
Check out our Scholars Spotlight to meet some of our students who have shared their stories with us.
They come from different backgrounds and have selected different fields of study, but they share the common goal of investing in their futures for themselves and their families.
We continue to be inspired by each of them and are honored to assist them in their educational pursuits.
Support For Our Scholars
We have been fortunate to catch the eyes of some major players in the workwear industry who have made significant contributions to our workforce education program. Both Carhartt, through its "Hard Rock is Hard Work" Labor Day campaign, and Wolverine, through its Project Bootstrap program, have helped us train the skilled trade professionals of tomorrow.