Winners Announced for First Round of GHF-NIMS Credentialing Scholarship Program

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), the precision manufacturing industry’s premier standards and certification body, and the Gene Haas Foundation (GHF), which provides scholarships to schools for students entering technical training programs, congratulate the first round of winners of a new scholarship program to help schools prepare more students for success in precision manufacturing careers.

Danville Community College, Kishwaukee College, and Southside Virginia Community College are the first to receive GHF-NIMS Credentialing Scholarships to build high-quality technical programs that provide students with industry-recognized credentials and foundational skills to pursue and grow careers in the precision manufacturing industry.

“With this program, we hope to support more high schools and community colleges as they build high-quality programs that use NIMS standards and credentials in order to deliver the most relevant and innovative training,” said the Gene Haas Foundation Board.  “This provides our country’s manufacturers an excellent workforce.”

Scholarship winners will receive a $2,500 contribution toward implementing industry-recognized NIMS standards and credentials into their machine training programs and seeking national recognition through NIMS accreditation.  The Scholarships will also cover costs for an unlimited number of students to gain NIMS credentials that certify skills across multiple levels and job functions.

“There are an estimated 99,500 projected job openings for machinists and 117,100 projected job openings for industrial maintenance technicians nationally through 2020,” said Jim Wall, Executive Director, NIMS.  “We are proud to be working with the Gene Haas Foundation to help schools prepare more young people with the in-demand skills and credentials they need to succeed in these growing jobs.”

The Scholarship Program launched with a $100,000 contribution from the GHF at the SkillsUSA 2014 National Leadership and Skills Conference.