Central Piedmont Community College will participate in the Metallica Scholars Initiative for the sixth consecutive year and receive $5,000 in funding to support its career and technical education programs.

Since its inception in 2018, the Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI), funded by Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation (AWMH) in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), has significantly improved the earning potential of students who become Metallica Scholars.

Central Piedmont is committed to using the generous grant funds to provide direct support for students enrolled in healthcare career programs. These funds will assist students who need financial assistance to complete their studies and become licensed healthcare professionals, ensuring they have the necessary funding to pay for their licensure/certification exams and quickly enter the workforce fully licensed/certified.

The MSI workforce initiative marks its sixth year with an ambitious expansion into new curricula. MSI now directly supports 60 colleges across all 50 United States and the territory of Guam.  By the end of year six, MSI will have helped more than 8,000 students with a wide range of backgrounds and ages gain skills to assist in finding meaningful jobs and careers. To date, AWMH has invested over $10.5M in the American workforce, reaffirming a commitment to career and technical education at the local level.

"I am happy to congratulate the newest Metallica Scholarship Initiative colleges. The All Within My Hands Foundation's sustained investment in workforce education has benefitted thousands of community college students," said Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of AACC. "This work helps to advance skills education and the nation's workforce pipeline. We are honored to continue this partnership to provide critical resources that eliminate barriers for students to participate in skills education programs that lead to family-sustaining wage careers."