Hypertherm Associates is accepting applications for its Spark Something Great educational grant program. The program, now in its 10th year, will provide 12 North American schools with a Powermax45 XP air plasma system and an in-person training from a Hypertherm product expert.
The Spark Something Great grant program is meant to support the next generation of welders and metal fabricators by making plasma cutting equipment and standardized instruction available to schools.
To date, the company has awarded systems to 100 schools. Hypertherm will collect applications through March 30, and grant decisions will be communicated by May 1. More information, including instructions for applying, is available here.
“The skills gap and labor shortage has placed increased demand on North American vocational schools,” said Stephen Bruner, who manages Hypertherm Associates’ educational program. “An influx of new students coupled with teacher shortages mean you have fewer instructors teaching more students without a corresponding increase in equipment. We’ve encountered numerous programs in which dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of students are forced to share a single system. Our program hopes to providing a versatile system instructors can use to teach handheld and mechanized cutting, as well as applications such as gouging, flush cutting and marking.”
In addition to the grant program, Hypertherm Associates will continue to offer its its AWS SENSE approved Plasma Cutting Technology: Theory and Practice curriculum available to teachers. The curriculum covers the plasma cutting process, common industrial uses for plasma systems, the differences between various cutting methods, safety procedures, as well as proper setup and operation.
Electronic versions of each lesson, a facilitator’s guide, student workbook, and supporting reference material are all available here.
