Sugar Grove – Waubonsee Community College was one of nine recipients of the Welding Workforce Grant, awarded through the American Welding Society (AWS) Foundation. The $22,500 award will be used to improve the quality and training capacity of Waubonsee’s welding programs to support the needs of local industries.
The AWS Foundation is dedicated to building the welding workforce by providing grant funding to secondary and post-secondary welder training facilities that seek to enhance and improve their welding education programs. Waubonsee submitted a proposal detailing equipment or facility upgrades that would increase the number of students trained or graduates successfully employed.
“We initially applied for the grant to obtain equipment and resources necessary to offer welder performance qualification tests per code,” said Ne’Keisha Stepney, Executive Dean for Business, Technology and Workforce Education. “We hope that utilizing the grant will help us to identify the proficiency level of welding students and current technicians seeking professional development and/or advancement, allow for certifications to be issued, and position the program to earn the AWS Accredited Test Facility designation.”
Waubonsee’s Welding Technology Program is located at the Plano Campus, recently remodeled to become the college’s Innovation and Design Center. Students receive hands-on training in the the industry’s most in-demand techniques: pipe welding, oxy-fuel, shielded metal arc, gas metal arc, flux cored arc, and gas tungsten arc. “Welding is a highly-skilled career with plentiful job opportunities.” Stepney added. “We’re proud to offer students opportunities that prepare them for well-paying jobs. Median salaries in our area range from $33,000 for machine operators to $77,000 for sheet metal workers ”
Since 2017, more than $1,000,000 in Welding Workforce Grants have been awarded through the AWS Foundation grant program for welding schools.
