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A community college in Chester, Virginia has received a large sum of money to help upgrade new technologies and its industrial electricity and mechanical maintenance programs.
What Happened?
John Tyler Community College has received a grant of $1.33 million to expand and upgrade its programs in electricity and mechanical maintenance. With the school’s goal of helping students earn a certificate in a year or less, as well as an associate degree, this grant has proven to be a help that will benefit the college in the long run.
This grant was offered by Altria Group Inc., a multi-billionaire company that made its fortune selling tobacco, cigarettes, and other related product.
“We are thankful for Altria’s generous gift,” President Edward Raspiller said in a statement. “This grant gives our college the resources needed to expand access, as well as enhance our programs that train people for high-demand jobs.”
President Raspiller plans to create and set up a second electricity lab on its Chester campus, as well as upgrading equipment in the current electrical lab. Currently, the school has 114 students enrolled in that class, but with that grant, that will allow them to enroll an additional 40 to 60 per year.
With programs that promote trade work, it poses as a way to solve Virginia’s shortage of skilled employees in mechanics. Almost 60 percent of Virginia companies report a lack of qualified candidates to fill current and future manufacturing job vacancies, the college reported.
The new mechanical maintenance equipment is expected to delivered and ready for use in the spring semester of 2019.
The new electricity lab and upgrades to the equipment in the current electricity lab will be complete in August. The college also said it expects the training program for High School students to start in the fall semester of 2019.
Who is Altria Group Inc.?
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Established in 1985, Altria Group, Inc. is an American corporation and one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes and other related products. It has a business influence worldwide and its headquarter is located in Henrico County, Virginia.
Altria Group currently owns Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Philip Morris International.
It has a market cap of $145.5 billion in today’s market.