Courtesy Photo Alpena High School students in the welding class pose with some of their creations. The welding program just received a $248,346 grant.

Alpena’s Career & Technical Education program was just awarded a $248,346 Career Pathways Project Enhancement Grant for Welding from the Michigan Department of Education, Perkins V federal funding. This grant is to fund secondary and postsecondary collaborative partnerships for the purpose of developing statewide seamless secondary/postsecondary programs aligned to Michigan labor market needs and student interest.

Alpena Schools Welding project leadership team will work with employers around Michigan to identify the credentials valued by them and link those to state CTE Welding standards. They will also ensure that high school programs and college welding programs are in sync to offer credentials, apprenticeships and certificates that are used in hiring welding applicants. High school and college welding faculty from across Michigan will participate with employers in this project to ensure the results from this work represents our welding employment needs.

The money from the grant will be used for salaries, stipends to participants and travel expenses to ensure total statewide participation.