Who repairs the supermarket fridge? Minnesota colleges seek funding to train for in-demand jobs

Matt Stiles spent years working in an office "without enjoying the office life and wanting to get into the trades somehow."

Seeking a new profession that would offer some stability, Stiles landed on a two-year heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration program at Minneapolis Community & Technical College.

It "took the right opportunity to be able to do it," said Stiles, 49, of Minneapolis, who relied in part on a workforce development scholarship to help cover the costs.

The Minnesota State system of colleges and universities is seeking an additional $100 million in state funding to boost these types of workforce development programs. Of that, $51 million would help cover scholarships and expand programming. The other $49 million would help upgrade the equipment and facilities instructors use to train students. That state funding would match a portion of donations made by private groups, including some employers who are seeking workers for in-demand fields.

"We want to be able to give students — not just in this program, at this college, but in all the system schools — the best education possible so that they can start their careers with employers with the best preparation possible," said Vince Thomas, dean of Business & Economics and Trade Technologies at Minneapolis Community & Technical College.

The system offers workforce development scholarships at each of its 26 community and technical colleges for students enrolled in high-demand fields, such as manufacturing, agriculture, health care services, IT, early childhood education and transportation. Administrators say additional state funding would allow them to also provide scholarships to people studying construction and public safety, among other topics.

It would also allow them to upgrade labs and other facilities so they more closely resemble the conditions students will see in the workforce. Due to a backlog and budget stressors "not all technical program spaces are as modern as they should be," said Bill Maki, the system's vice chancellor of finance and facilities.

The request has so far received support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. But Sen. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, noted in a committee meeting last month that lawmakers are also hearing from other industries that are seeking funding as they try to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

"We always face critical decisions about where we're going to put our resources for our future," she said. Then she asked: "What happens if we don't choose this?"

Minneapolis Community & Technical College created its supermarket refrigeration course after it received a donation in 2017 from Zero Zone, a Ramsey-based company that builds the cooler systems found in grocery stores, gas stations and other locations.

"A lot of the students go out and work in skilled trades, and they're equally as important to us," said Rick Steer, vice president and general manager of the company's systems division. Steer said that while Zero Zone makes the cooling equipment, it relies on others to maintain it.

On a recent Tuesday evening, 11 students listened as instructor Hugo Morales walked them through different types of compressors and oil separators and how to adjust them under varying conditions. Then students moved to a lab where they practiced repairing the equipment.

The lab is the portion of class that some students look forward to the most.

"It really mirrors what you see in the real world," said Stiles, who is weeks away from graduation and already working in the field.

One of his classmates, Hugo Montes de Oca, 20, also found work before graduation, switching jobs to earn an extra $9 per hour. Montes de Oca has been trying to convince friends to join the program, noting that it's "not a four-year degree, so it's not super expensive."

Montes de Oca settled on the HVAC and refrigeration program after learning "there is a huge need for it. A lot of technicians are older, retiring."

Steer cautions that if the program wants to maintain its relevance and continue to help students find jobs, it will need additional upgrades in the coming years. Since Zero Zone made its donation six years ago, industry experts have been trying to find ways to improve the technology to make it more environmentally friendly.

"It's not one-and-done," Steer said. "This is a dynamic industry."