Metallica’s National Workforce Education Program Expands To 75 Schools

Seven years into the Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI) and the heavy metal legends’ philanthropic work continues to grow, with its largest grant to date and expansion to 75 schools.

Metallica’s All Within My Hands (AWMH), a nonprofit created by the band and management, announced that the seventh year of its MSI received $3 million in grants and added 15 new schools to the program, with each school receiving $75,000 to improve career and technical education programs.

AWMH launched MSI in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges in 2019, initially involving 10 schools. The initiative has since grown in presence, reaching as many as 10,000 students in 75 colleges across the country and in Guam.

“I could not be any prouder of our Metallica Scholars. We know that our country needs millions of skilled tradespeople, and it warms my heart to know that our Foundation’s efforts are making a positive impact and putting hard-working people on the path to careers in the trades,” Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo said in a statement. “Whether it’s a school visit or a meet and greet before a show, there is no better feeling than meeting our Metallica Scholars in person and hearing their stories of grit and determination firsthand, along with their pride and commitment. It is truly inspiring. To think we started with a few schools and a couple hundred students, and we’re now in 75 schools nationwide, about to reach 10,000 students. It’s just incredible.”

Metallica’s initiative through their nonprofit aims to offer opportunities in diverse fields for students who want to gain skills and training needed to establish meaningful careers with family-sustaining wages. New fields added to the curricula this year include air traffic control, agricultural technologies, fire technologies and AI.

AWHM has invested more than $13.5 million into the American workforce through MSI. According to an evaluation from the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy, MSI graduates can expect to earn more than eight times the upfront cost of their program during their first year working.

“2025 is a watershed moment for the Metallica Scholars Initiative,” said Peter Delgrosso, executive director of AWMH. “With the addition of 15 new schools this fall and USC’s independent research articulating the strength of our results, we are eager to tackle the quantifiable shortage of skilled labor our nation faces. If we extrapolate these ROI numbers over a career, it demonstrates how effective and profitable learning a trade can be for the individual, and how society as a whole also benefits from community college graduates. This insight will profoundly affect MSI going forward, impacting how people view careers in the trades, encouraging more corporate and individual sponsorship, and driving its advancement across the country. We’re thrilled to incorporate these findings into this year’s planning and expansion.”

Some of the schools added to MSI include Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California; Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio’s Ivy Tech Community College; and Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan.

For a list of all the AWMH-supported colleges, visit allwithinmyhands.org.