Praxair Inc. recently invested over $500 million in the U.S. Gulf Coast — most of it in Louisiana. It was during the execution of these projects that the company ran into a critical shortage in skilled workers, particularly welders.
“Working closely with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy (WISE) Program, we developed the Skills Pipeline Program, which incorporates scholarships for welding training, and instructorships and continuing education for basic welders to improve their skills and become higher level welders and higher certified welders,” said Anne Roby, senior vice president at Praxair.
Praxair’s Skills Pipeline Program is the company’s most recent community engagement initiative and represents a multifaceted approach to help address the growing need for skilled workers in today’s global economy. The first phase of the program will provide more than $300,000 to train 100 new welders in an accelerated one-year curriculum in Louisiana, as well as provide continuing education for existing welders, professional development and welding instructorships. The program, which is funded by Praxair’s Global Giving Program, will be offered through Baton Rouge Community College, Delgado Community College in New Orleans and Southwest Louisiana Technical Community College in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“Praxair’s initiative wastes no time in addressing what looms as a very specific and pressing need for our state,” said Louisiana House Speaker Chuck Kleckley. “The state of Louisiana has more than $70 billion in new plant construction slated to begin by 2016, and the need for skilled welding professionals is urgent. This program is a prime example of the industry-academia-governmental collaborations envisioned for the state’s WISE Program.”
Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Dr. Monty Sullivan spoke of the significance of such a program to students, saying, “This investment by Praxair comes at a critical time for Louisiana as we continue the drive to increase the skilled work force of tomorrow. Welding and construction skill crafts are some of the fastest growing and some of the highest paying professions in the state. This effort will give more Louisiana citizens the skills to go to work.”
The scholarships will provide students access to an accelerated American Welding Society SENSE (School Excelling through National Skill Standards Education) curriculum, as well as career-readiness content from Praxair. Courses in the American Welding Society curriculum include:
- Shielded metal arc welding.
- Gas metal arc welding.
- Flux cored arc welding.
- Gas tungsten arc welding.
- Manual oxyfuel gas cutting.
- Mechanized oxyfuel gas cutting.
- Manual plasma arc cutting.
- Manual air carbon arc cutting.
Praxair’s short-term goal for the first phase of the Skills Pipeline work force development program is to educate 100 new welders and to improve the skills of existing welders in Louisiana. Long term, however, it’s about competitiveness.
“If business in Louisiana is going to be globally competitive, we have to have people resources we can count on,” said Roby. “And in order to have those people resources, we have to invest in developing them. The long-term strategy really revolves around having that diverse pipeline of skilled professionals.”
The first phase of the Skills Pipeline Program kicked off in early August. The second phase will continue to identify where skill gaps exist in the development pipeline for skilled professionals.
“A welding career is a good career, but there is a shortage of welders today and there has been in the past,” said Roby. “This program is significant, but it’s not going to fully close the gap. The reality is there are many skill gaps in Louisiana and around the country. This is only a beginning.”
For more information, visit www.praxair.com or call (800) 772-9247.
