Metallica is renewing its Scholars Initiative program for a second year and expanding it from 10 to 15 schools, following a successful inaugural year that resulted in job placement rates exceeding 90 percent.
The initiative was launched in 2019 when Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation partnered with the American Association of Community Colleges to provide financial assistance to enhance career and technical education programs. Ten colleges across the country were selected to receive $100,000 to support more than 1,000 students training to enter the American workforce.
Final reports from all 10 schools and their more than 700 first-wave Metallica Scholars, as the students were called, revealed an overall 80 to 90 percent program completion rate, and 95 percent job placement for those Scholars who completed their certifications and studies.
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said, “Our 2019 Metallica Scholars have exceeded expectations and inspired us in more ways than we could have possibly imagined. We're really excited to be able to expand the initiative in its second year, assisting more students in achieving their dreams and transforming their lives in 2020.”
Ulrich told us a while back that sometimes even having 24 hours in the day isn't enough for Metallica to do everything it wants: “We always kind of have big picture ideas, we always look ahead, we always, you know, got all these balls in the air, and our application for 28-hour days has so far been rejected, so we're still stuck at 24. You know, there's only so much time.”
The second year will add five more community colleges. The program will also receive matching grants from new partners supplementing All Within My Hands' cumulative $1.5 million contribution.