Central Nine awarded grant for pipe-welding program

Central Nine Career Center received this week a $45,213 grant from Duke Energy Foundation for its welding program.

The foundation, the charitable giving arm of Duke Energy, awarded more than $300,000 in workforce readiness grants to 16 organizations throughout Indiana, according to a news release. The grant for Central Nine is the largest awarded by Duke in this grant cycle.

Central Nine will use the money to purchase a pipe-welding system to help high school and adult education students attain industry certification in pipe-welding techniques, according to the release.

The grant money will help people earn a certification they need to join Indiana’s workforce, Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar said in the release.

“Without fail, employers and community leaders I speak to in our service territory list workforce as an immediate area of focus,” Pinegar said. “Duke Energy is committed to helping Indiana’s workers obtain the skills and industry-recognized credentials needed to meet the state’s current and future labor market needs, with the ultimate goal of providing a better quality of life for the customers and communities we serve.”

Central Nine serves students from nine feeder schools in Marion and Johnson counties. Locally, students from Center Grove, Whiteland, Franklin, Greenwood and Indian Creek high schools attend Central Nine. Welding is one of the school’s most popular programs. Plans for its $4 million renovation project to expand the school include doubling its classroom space for welding, which currently can accommodate 25 students.

With the rise in demand for welding programs, the new welding system, the parts for which will be ordered later in the summer, will help students attain the skills they need for industry certification, said Michelle Augustine, CTE innovation coach for Central Nine.

“We always have a waiting list for students, and with the expansion, we are looking at offering modern welding technology for the high school and adult students,” Augustine said. “It allows students to train with the equipment used in local industries, so that’s part of the reason we’re looking into this, so students who have industry certification can get a job locally and grow our workforce and economy.”