Carrier Grant Boosts Kentucky Technical Education Program

FRANKLIN, Ky. — Carrier has contributed $10,000 to the Southcentral Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (SKY FAME) endowment campaign.

This donation aims to nurture a sustainable pipeline of maintenance technicians and to combat the ongoing technician shortage. Carrier is a part of Carrier Global Corp.

SKY FAME operates as a selective, work-and-learn admissions program designed to educate advanced manufacturing technicians (AMTs). Students attend classes at the Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College two days per week while working a minimum of 24 hours per week at a sponsoring manufacturer — all while receiving a competitive wage. The students study diverse technical skill set, including electricity, robotics, fluid power, mechanics, fabrication, industrial troubleshooting, and more. Upon completing five semesters, students earn an associate’s degree in industrial maintenance technology and accumulate more than 1,800 hours of work experience.

“At Carrier, we take great pride in supporting the next generation of skilled maintenance technicians through collaborations with programs such as SKY FAME. This donation emphasizes our commitment to cultivating multi-skilled technicians for the HVAC industry and to closing the technician shortage gap.” said Austin Henne, senior operations manager at Carrier.

“We are very grateful for our new and exciting partnership with Carrier,” said Kelcie Richart, campus director at SKYCTC’s Franklin-Simpson Center. “Our collaborative efforts underline our united commitment to workforce enhancement and collective success, demonstrating that through our collaboration, we can mold pathways that yield positive outcomes for all involved.”