Adult Education has received a $10,000 grant from the non-profit advocacy group Propane Education & Research Council to assist with qualifying costs related to adding a propane training component to existing programs.
The grant will cover the cost of propane equipment, curriculum materials and instructor training to help establish propane education in Pickaway-Ross Adult Education’s HVAC and Industrial Maintenance programs.
Rhonda Lawless and Rodney Havens are contacting advisory committee members seeking an individual from the propane industry to serve as the propane advisor for the program. The advisor’s role is to provide guidance and oversight for the program and to document its success.
The advisor will also speak to Adult Education students twice during the instruction period about safety, new propane technologies and professional opportunities for propane technicians.
As the primary instructor for the propane curriculum, Havens will attend a PERC-sponsored instructor training program this summer.
Pickaway-Ross is scheduled to receive 75 percent of the grant money in the first quarter of 2023 with the final portion to be delivered when the project is completed at the end of this calendar year.
With the help of the propane advisor, the initial payment will be used to purchase and install the instructional materials in the HVAC lab.
Based on current enrollment figures, an estimated 25 students from the HVAC and Industrial Maintenance programs will benefit from the new propane instruction each year.
Havens and Lawless said the equipment and instructional materials provided by this grant will continue to create professional opportunities for students long after the initial grant period has ended.