Praxair Kicks-Off Second Year of Skills Pipeline Workforce Development Program in Louisiana; Providing More Than $200,000 in Scholarships

31 Mayo 2016, 00:00 AM EDT

DANBURY, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX), a global industrial gas company, announced the
kick-off of the second year of its Skills Pipeline™ workforce
development program. Working together with the Louisiana Community and
Technical College System (LCTCS), the program helps address the need
for skilled workers in today’s global economy.

Praxair will invest more than $200,000 to train over 50 welders in an
accelerated one-year curriculum. Funded by Praxair’s Global Giving
Program, scholarships will be offered through Baton Rouge Community
College and SOWELA Technical Community College. This initiative is
scheduled to begin in July, with community information events beginning
in June.

“We began this effort to help address the severe shortage of skilled
trades needed to support growth in the Gulf Coast,” said Dr. Anne Roby,
senior vice president at Praxair. “These new welders are already making
their mark, working for many employers including Praxair, our customers
and other industrial companies in the area. We are excited to kick-off a
second year of the Praxair Skills Pipeline program with LCTCS and
welcome the next class of students.”

“The partnership and commitment from Praxair to continue investing in
our students, our colleges and the workforce of Louisiana is
extraordinary,” said Dr. Monty Sullivan, president of the LCTCS. “We are
proud of the success of the Skills Pipeline program and look
forward to continuing to make this public-private partnership the model
for workforce development in the nation.”

In 2015, 87 new welders in Louisiana graduated from the inaugural class
of the Skills Pipeline program. This is the most recent community
engagement program demonstrating Praxair’s commitment to STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) education in the communities in which
it operates. The company will be expanding the initiative to other areas
across the country and by the end of 2016 will have invested more than
$1 million in welding workforce development through the program.

The scholarships provide students access to an accelerated curriculum as
well as career-readiness content. Courses 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

About Praxair

Praxair, Inc., a Fortune 250 company with 2015 sales of $11 billion, is
a leading industrial gas company in North and South America and one of
the largest worldwide.
The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and
specialty gases,
and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services
and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing
efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries,
including aerospace,
chemicals,
food
and beverage, electronics,
energy,
healthcare,
manufacturing, primary metals and many others. More information about
Praxair, Inc. is available at www.praxair.com.