By Jim Bloch
Looking to learn a trade?
In St. Clair County, one of the key pathways to a career in the trades is the Regional Educational Service Agency’s Technical Education Center in Marysville.
RESA offers 15 programs in a variety of fields, ranging from automotive technology and collision repair to construction, cosmetology, the culinary arts, heavy equipment and welding.
The agency is about to add one more.
On July 7, RESA announced that it had received a $1.7 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to launch a program in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning at the TEC.
The influx of money will help pay for renovations at the facility, including the construction of 13 lab stations, the purchases the specialized equipment on which students will train, and the related capital costs to launch the program. The curriculum will include “technical skills, safety, diagnostic reasoning, and workplace readiness,” according to RESA. “Students will have the opportunity to earn industry credentials, participate in work-based learning experiences, and connect with apprenticeships, employment opportunities, and postsecondary pathways.”
The buildout for the HVAC program is scheduled to start next summer and open to students in the fall of 2027.
“The new two-year program will prepare students for careers in a field with strong local hiring demand, helping address the growing need for skilled trades professionals throughout the county,” RESA said in its press release. “The program will serve up to 52 students each school year and will also help reduce waitlists in existing TEC programs, expanding opportunities for students interested in construction, electrical systems, HVAC, and related fields.”
“Expanding access to high-quality career and technical education is one of the most direct ways communities can help young people see and pursue meaningful futures,” said Kate Partington, program officer at the foundation, in a statement. “St. Clair County RESA has built this program in close partnership with educators, employers, and
workforce partners, which is exactly the kind of community-aligned approach that creates long-lasting opportunity.”
The Wilson Foundation focuses its grant-giving in southeastern Michigan and western New York to support active lifestyles; prepare residents for success throughout their lives and careers; champion the caregivers of older adults; and encourage entrepreneurship and economic development.
Wilson grew up in Detroit and owned the Buffalo Bills football team. He died in 2014 in Grosse Pointe Shores at the age of 95. The foundation was established the next year.
“The (grant) opportunity grew from a conversation between RESA superintendent Brenda Tenniswood and Randy Maiers, president and chief operating officer of the Community Foundation of St. Clair County,” according to the press release. “Maiers connected RESA with representatives of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, giving RESA leaders the opportunity to share a vision that had been years in the making—built through careful planning, industry engagement, and ongoing conversations with local employers about the region’s workforce needs.”
Tenniswood called the grant “transformative.”
“(I)t is also a recognition of TEC’s longstanding reputation for excellence and its proven ability to prepare students for successful careers,” Tenniswood said.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
