Bend High School accepted a grant from a national nonprofit to upgrade its welding program, which could give students an opportunity to earn an entry-level welding certification while still in high school. 

The school was awarded $24,510 from the American Welding Society Foundation, a national nonprofit that aims to advance the welding industry, to improve existing equipment and buy new equipment, according to a news release from Bend-La Pine Schools.

New equipment will be purchased and installed by the fall of 2023.

“We are really excited since this will allow us to provide our students hands-on experience with the tools and equipment that are being used in the workplace right now and create a pipeline for local businesses who desperately need these trade professionals,” Chuck Hill, a welding instructor at Bend High, said in the release.

Bend High School’s welding classes are a part of its Career and Technical Education programs. Those programs provide students “a clear path to high wage, high demand jobs,” Lisa Keown, the school’s programs coordinator said in the release.