Scholarships for Job Skills Retraining for Adults
Does anyone have experience managing a scholarship to support adults looking for job skills retraining (trade, technical, certificate programs)? In addition to the standard tuition, fees, we have a donor that would like to support needed supplies, equipment, etc.
All of our current scholarships are traditional ones aimed at high school seniors or current college students. I would love to see examples of applications for non-traditional scholarships and learn how you've set up your process. For example, do you use rolling application deadlines rather than the traditional January - March timeframe?
And how do you market these scholarship opportunities?
Many thanks!
(This is a repost of a previous thread, which didn't get much in the way of a response! I'm hoping this timing is better!)
Laurie Abildso
Vice President
Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia, Inc.
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I'm not even close to an expert, but marketing the scholarship opportunities could be done through HR of some of your area technical employers or even at staffing solution firms to encourage temporary workers into gaining full-time status.
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We have a scholarship that is for adult learners or non traditional students who are not interested in a four year degree. ($5000) suitable for people wanting to be cosmetologists, truck drivers, dental or medical assistants, technicians, linemen or women, auto mechanics etc. This was a very difficult group to find and I advertised everywhere including posters in stores, reached out to non profits servicing the low income group (still feel I should get someone to apply from this group) the newspaper and I talked to everyone I interacted with outside of the office, with little response.
What I found was that non traditional are found applying to the local trade or community schools. Fortunately this scholarship allows for students attending for-profit colleges e.g. Intellitec and while I find them very expensive, I have come to terms that you must meet this population where they are. I have a relationship with the administration/finance people at these colleges and they recommend people to apply. It took over 2 years for this scholarship to find its people.
If you are wanting people to become plumbers or electricians, that would be a different conversation.
Happy to speak with you further on this matter as I feel this particular population really benefit from any assistance they get.
Deirdre McLoughlin
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Hi Laurie,
We allow students to request reimbursement for required supplies/equipment for their program. I worked with a student that was enrolled in an employer based apprenticeship program and we reimbursed him for tools. The employer was able to provide me with a list of equipment required for the apprenticeship. I think this worked very well for the student.
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Hi Robin,
I am actually interested in your scholarship that would help apprenticeships. Can you tell me a little bit about it?
Deirdre McLoughlin
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Thank you @DeirdreMcLoughlin and @robincowles.
Deirdre, we are in the process of meeting with all of the local vocational/trade schools to make them aware of the opportunity, and I'm boosted by your comment that connecting with those institutions worked well. We are also going to use traditional media and reach out to social service agencies and the local Workforce office, but I think we'll have the most success with the schools themselves. I'd love to chat with you more about your experience. Please email me at laurie@ycfwv.org with your availability over the next few weeks. Many thanks!
Laurie Abildso
Vice President
Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia, Inc.
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We offer a nontraditional scholarship that is open each year until the funds are depleted. It is a restricted process in SLM. Students reach out to our education officer to explain their needs and if she thinks they fit, she provides the code. These awards can be used for certifications, full university tuition, or anything in between. We have several funds that are specifically for nontraditional students and we use one application, that is light on questions and heavy on interviews, to determine which scholarship is appropriate for the student. We work hand-in-hand with a nonprofit in our county that specializes in helping this population navigate higher education. They do the follow-up work to be sure the student has the tools they need to complete their training or degree.
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We are in the process of setting up a scholarship program for current or former foster youth interested in pursuing Career and Technical Education (CTE) at select community colleges. Knowing the path is not as straight and there are likely to be some times when students take time off, we are also trying to figure out how often to open the application for new students. We have a draft application in SLM and scoring guide that is being reviewed and validated by a panel of experts. Send me a message l if you would like to see a draft.
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I'm curious to hear more about your apprenticeship scholarship, as one of our Community Colleges has expressed a need for this. However, it the funds are not being issued to a 'qualified educational institution,' how do you manage this as a non-taxable expenditure?
Thank you.
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Hi Jenny,
We have handled this situation by reimbursing students for required tools/supplies. If a student has an apprenticeship, they should be able to obtain a list of required equipment from the apprenticeship coordinator.
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