2 minute read
Branthaven Donates a Million to Mohawk
BRANTHAVEN DONATES A MILLION TO MOHAWK
City School funding will spur workforce development
Branthaven President Steve Stipsits, his wife, V.P. of Sales & Marketing Elizabeth Stipsits and Branthaven Homes have made a $1 million donation to Mohawk College’s workforce development in the construction trades for the college’s City School program.
The donation will promote new education and employment opportunities in the residential construction sector for people in underserved communities through City School training programs, the college reports.
“We are incredibly grateful to Steve, Elizabeth and Branthaven Homes,” said Ron J. McKerlie, president and CEO of Mohawk College and president of the Mohawk College Foundation. “This powerful gift will allow City School to provide training for people and help them secure lasting, meaningful work in construction trades while addressing labour shortages in the field.”
“The main reason for our investment in City School is to see up to 1,200 students and their families no longer having to choose between paying for food or rent,” said Steve Stipsits. “I have never seen a more powerful vehicle than City School for helping people step into careers and out of the cycle of multi-generational poverty.”
The Mohawk connection is a special one for Steve, who graduated from the college’s Architectural Technology Program in 1984 prior to beginning his home building career. A Distinguished Fellow of the College and a Mohawk College Alumnus of Distinction, he also served as a governor from 2017 to 2022.
This Branthaven Homes donation will support a $2-million, five-year workforce development strategy that leverages the City School by Mohawk College rapid skills-training programs and other Mohawk assets to increase training capacity and address acute workforce shortages in the construction sector. That includes: development of industry-focused training programs; addressing and removing barriers to training and employment for people in underserved communities; promotion of construction trades careers; and delivery of demand-led programs through City School by Mohawk College.
To acknowledge this gift, City School mobile classrooms will include branding that recognizes the support of Branthaven Homes. The college has additionally unveiled the Branthaven Construction Trades, Technology & Research Centre at its Stoney Creek Campus for Skilled Trades.
