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Metallica Scholars

Supporting Workforce Education

What Is The Metallica Scholars Initiative?

The Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI) is a major workforce education program that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education curricula. These courses provide skills and services to students looking to enter a conventional trade or other applied learning program.

“When we launched the Metallica Scholars Initiative, it really spoke to me. A collective goal of breaking the stigma of trade skills. Trade skills are vital to society, and what’s even more important is to support the many folks who are trying to create a career by learning and using these skills.”

- James Hetfield

The Evolution of MSI

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. As of 2026, MSI reached all 50 United States and Guam, and has expanded internationally to the UK. AWMH is proud to partner with Capital City College Group (CCC) in London, bringing our total number of students supported to roughly 15,000 individuals pursuing meaningful careers. Learn more about how we have grown the program year after year.

  • The Metallica Scholars Initiative Launches with $1M in Grants Across 10 Community Colleges

  • MSI is Renewed with 15 Schools and $1.5M in Funding

  • Expansion Continues as we Welcome Eight New Schools and Grant $1.6M

  • MSI Reaches 32 Schools Across 27 States, Investing $1.8M

  • Now in 42 Schools, MSI will Total 6,000 Students Served by Year's End

  • With Over $10M Invested Since Launch, MSI Now Present in all 50 United States plus Guam

  • $3M Grant Brings MSI to 75 Community Colleges and 10,000 Students

  • $3.3M Committed to Expand to 93 US Schools, plus $250,000 (£186,000) to Establish MSI in the United Kingdom

How Are Schools Selected?

In the United States, AWMH partners with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the primary advocacy organization for the nation's more than 1,000 community colleges, to determine Metallica Scholars grant recipients. Schools are selected through a competitive application process before receiving the award, which is designed to support relevant job skill training for community college students, reinvest in communities that supported Metallica during its recent United States tours, and leverage Metallica's influence to elevate the importance of career and technical education. See a complete list of American schools at the bottom of this page.

In the United Kingdom, AWMH partners with Capital City College Group (CCC) to fund technical education programs on several of the group's campuses, prioritizing students from underserved London communities pursing vocational careers.

Get To Know Our Students

Check out our Scholars Spotlight to meet some 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. Read their stories to find out in their own words how the Metallica Scholars funding makes a difference in their lives and educational paths.

We continue to be inspired by each of them and are honored to assist them in their educational pursuits.

Support For Our Scholars

We were fortunate to attract the attention of some major players in the workwear industry, who helped kickstart MSI into the thriving program you see today. Over several years and fundraising campaigns supporting our Metallica Scholars, both Wolverine and Carhartt have established themselves as long-term, invaluable partners, helping us train the skilled trade professionals of tomorrow.

Leveraging one of the band’s longest-standing vendor relationships, AWMH established a partnership of its own with Upstaging, Inc. If you are a Metallica fan, you will recognize the trucks that get the band’s lighting and equipment from city to city on many tours. Appreciating an opportunity to give back, Upstaging jumped in to assist right away during the Helping Hands Concert in 2018. We now work together to train future roadies through our Metallica Scholars Initiative, which aligns with Upstaging Leadership's robust training program, Upstaging University.

For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, the Lowe's Foundation contributed significantly to our workforce education program. A natural fit, given the similarities in mission between AWMH and Lowe's Foundation’s Gable Grant, the foundation contributed $1 Million to MSI.

2025 brought a partnership with CNH, a world-class equipment and services company that sustainably advances the noble work of agriculture and construction workers. The work didn't just sync up, so did the mission. CNH has a history of focusing on community improvement and skills development.

2026 marked the start of AWMH’s partnership with ServiceTitan, the software platform that powers the trades. The company’s end-to-end solution gives contractors the AI-powered tools they need to run and grow their business, while providing a stellar customer experience.

What Schools Are Supported?

  1. Aiken Technical College - Aiken, South Carolina
  2. Allan Hancock College - Santa Maria, California
  3. Arkansas Northeastern College - Blytheville, Arkansas
  4. Arkansas State University-Beebe - Beebe, Arkansas
  5. Atlantic Cape Community College - Mays Landing, New Jersey
  6. Barton Community College - Great Bend, Kansas
  7. Berkshire Community College - Pittsfield, Massachusetts
  8. Bismarck State College - Bismarck, North Dakota
  9. Central Community College - Grand Island, Nebraska
  10. Central Maine Community College - Auburn, Maine
  11. Central Piedmont Community College - Charlotte, North Carolina
  12. Central Wyoming College - Riverton Wyoming
  13. Chattahoochee Valley Community College - Phenix City, Alabama
  14. Clackamas Community College - Oregon City, Oregon
  15. Clark State College - Springfield, Ohio
  16. Clinton Community College - Clinton, Iowa
  17. College of Lake County - Grayslake, Illinois
  18. College of Southern Idaho - Twin Falls, Idaho
  19. College of Southern Nevada - Las Vegas, Nevada
  20. College of Western Idaho - Nampa, Idaho
  21. Columbia Gorge Community College - The Dalles, Oregon
  22. Columbia State Community College - Columbia, Tennessee
  23. Community College of Allegheny County - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  24. Community College of Baltimore County - Baltimore, Maryland
  25. Community College of Beaver County - Monaca, Pennsylvania
  26. Community College of Rhode Island - Warwick, Rhode Island
  27. Community College of Vermont - Montpelier, Vermont
  28. Community College System of New Hampshire - Concord, New Hampshire
  29. CT State Asnuntuck - Enfield, Connecticut
  30. De Anza College - Cupertino, California
  31. Delaware County Community College - Media, Pennsylvania
  32. Delaware Technical Community College - Dover, Delaware
  33. Dutchess Community College - Poughkeepsie, New York
  34. East Central College - Union, Missouri
  35. Eastern Maine Community College - Bangor, Maine
  36. Eastern New Mexico University–Ruidoso - Ruidoso, New Mexico
  37. Elizabethtown Community & Technical College - Elizabethtown, Kentucky
  38. Flathead Valley Community College - Kalispell, Montana
  39. Fletcher Technical Community College - Schriever, Louisiana
  40. Front Range Community College - Westminster, Colorado
  41. Gateway Technical College - Kenosha, Wisconsin
  42. Grand Rapids Community College - Grand Rapids, Michigan
  43. Guam Community College - Barrigada, Guam
  44. Guilford Technical Community College - Jamestown, North Carolina
  45. Honolulu Community College - Honolulu, Hawaii
  46. Hudson County Community College - Jersey City, New Jersey
  47. Itawamba Community College - Fulton, Mississippi
  48. Ivy Tech Community College Columbus - Columbus, Indiana
  49. Ivy Tech Fort Wayne/Warsaw Campus - Fort Wayne, Indiana
  50. Lake Region State College - Devils Lake, North Dakota
  51. Laramie County Community College - Cheyenne, Wyoming
  52. Leeward Community College - Pearl City, Hawaii
  53. Lone Star College - The Woodlands, Texas
  54. Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City, Missouri
  55. Middlesex Community College - Lowell, Massachusetts
  56. Milwaukee Area Technical College - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  57. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College - Perkinston, Mississippi
  58. Monroe Community College - Rochester, New York
  59. Moraine Valley Community College - Palos Hills, Illinois
  60. Mott Community College - Flint, Michigan
  61. North Central State College - Mansfield, Ohio
  62. Northeast Community College - Norfolk, Nebraska
  63. Northeast State Community College - Blountville, Tennessee
  64. Northeast Wisconsin Technical College - Green Bay, Wisconsin
  65. Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale, Virginia
  66. Northland Pioneer College - Holbrook, Arizona
  67. Northwest Mississippi Community College - Senatobia, Mississippi
  68. Northwest-Shoals Community College - Muscle Shoals, Alabama
  69. Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College - Orangeburg, South Carolina
  70. Oxnard College (Ventura Community College District) - Oxnard, California
  71. Pima Community College - Tucson, Arizona
  72. Polk State College - Winter Haven, Florida
  73. Raritan Valley Community College - Branchburg, New Jersey
  74. Riverside City College - Riverside, California
  75. Rockland Community College - Suffern, New York
  76. Salish Kootenai College - Pablo, Montana
  77. Salt Lake Community College - Salt Lake City, Utah
  78. San Juan College - Farmington, New Mexico
  79. South Central College - North Mankato, Minnesota
  80. South Louisiana Community College - Lafayette, Louisiana
  81. South Texas College - McAllen, Texas
  82. Spokane Community College - Spokane, Washington
  83. Trident Technical College - North Charleston, South Carolina
  84. Tulsa Community College - Tulsa, Oklahoma
  85. University of Alaska-Anchorage - Anchorage, Alaska
  86. Valencia College - Orlando, Florida
  87. Victor Valley College - Victorville, California
  88. West Georgia Technical College - Waco, Georgia
  89. West Virginia University Parkersburg - Parkersburg, West Virginia
  90. Westchester Community College - Valhalla, New York
  91. Western Dakota Technical College - Rapid City, South Dakota
  92. William Rainey Harper College - Palatine, Illinois
  93. WSU-Tech - Wichita, Kansas
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