MEMA Technical Education Center now has choices to help students
Deciding on whether to go to University or Trade School, Two Blue Road Sign with text University and Trade School with bright and stormy sky background
For many years after MTEC’s conception, funding for students outside of company sponsorship was non-existent. This meant that the student had to come up with their own funding. Sadly, this decreased the amount of prospects we had to draw from and by proxy encouraged highschoolers and other like prospects to apply to schools where student aid was allotted and sometimes even given to students by way of government grants. MTEC was losing potential students, many of whom we knew would make good technicians. This was a problem.
We knew that this was something that needed to be addressed. Over the past few years the staff at MTEC have put into place certain options for financial assistance funding programs that students can either apply for or participate in. The staff continues to seek out additional options for students and we plan to continue our efforts. Encouraging young people to come into the trades (and specifically into HVAC) is the first step, but making it a possibility for students who have no other options, besides government funding, is fundamental.
The Blue Collar Scholarship Foundation
The Blue Collar Scholarship Foundation is a foundation for students who have talent and who are interested in the trades. They understand that now is the time to invest in young people throughout the State of Maine. The Foundation is one that MTEC contributes to and in return the Foundation will work to assist students interested in pursuing HVAC training at our school.
Maine’s Career Centers
The Career Centers have been willing to fund MTEC students since the school first opened back in 1996. Over the past few years, the amount of students they’ve funded through classes here have grown significantly. This is because our success for career placement far exceeds their expectations. They see MTEC as a doorway to real JOBS thus MTEC is a great way to invest in people.
Military Benefits
MTEC works with many Veterans. The numbers show that Veterans are quite successful in their placements when they leave MTEC and it’s a great option for them to use their benefits. They tend to be hardworking individuals with skills that come in quite handy to our members. MTEC has hired Military Talent Source to help any Veteran gain access to and understand their benefits. They also work with and educate potential talent leaving the armed forces whom they feel would be a great fit for our program. It truly is what we call a win win for us all.
Five County Credit Union
Over the last year, MTEC has been working diligently with Five County Credit Union to help fund students interested in the HVAC program. This loan has the features of a federal student loan; including a low interest rate, deferred payments for 6 months after classes end etc. Five County designed a simple loan application specifically for MTEC’s prospective students and can be found on the MTEC website.
Meritize Financing
As well as Five County Credit Union, MTEC also works with Meritize to gain additional financing options for our more non traditional students. Meritize uses more than just a person’s credit score to determine loan eligibility. Their merit-based funding improves financing options by including academic, military, and work achievements in the credit evaluation.
Students that are coming to MTEC who are not being sponsored by a member, will utilize one of the above methods for borrowing. MTEC will continue to integrate new opportunities for financial assistance as time goes on. Questions and suggestions regarding how we can improve funding for our students should be directed to Hannah Estes hestes@maineenergymarketers.com.