Kansas City Scholars (KC Scholars), a college scholarship and success program, has announced a three-year, $50 million grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to help adults enroll in short-term career-training programs.

The grant will fund Great Jobs KC, a new program that will cover tuition for those ages 18 and older who enroll in existing programs that prepare students in under a year for high-demand, high-paying jobs, with a focus on developing a racially diverse workforce. Over the next 10 years, the program aims to enable 30,000 adults to secure jobs that do not require a college degree and pay $45,000 to $85,000 in sectors including health care, information technology, construction, and manufacturing.

KC Scholars will pair team members with interested adults to explore career possibilities; help them enroll in an established, approved training program; and support them through the first year of their employment to ensure success. In addition, KC Scholars will help program participants find support for affordable child care and reliable transportation—two often-cited barriers to successful completion of education and career training.

“[W]ith this catalytic grant from the Kauffman Foundation, we are excited to expand our offerings to adults who are looking for a career with upward mobility, but who may have lacked the means and support in the past,” said KC Scholars CEO Earl Martin Phalen. “These efforts will upskill and help improve the workforce, which will better the quality of life and the socioeconomic path of our communities.”

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