Graybar Powers Trades with New Scholarship Program
May 5, 2020
There is a labor shortage across the construction trades, and Graybar wants to help.
The National Electrical Contractors Association says that 7,000 electricians join the electrical industry each year, but more than 10,000 retire.
“With retirement on the horizon for many skilled professionals, the industry is in need of new ways to fill the talent gap,” said Graybar Chairman, President and CEO Kathy Mazzarella. “The lack of skilled workers and a narrow talent pipeline means that projects fall behind, costs rise and companies start to decline opportunities. The Graybar Construction Trades Scholarship allows us to make a positive difference by increasing awareness of careers in the construction trades and removing barriers to entry for young people with financial needs.”
Graybar Construction Trades Scholarship
Launched earlier this year, the Graybar Construction Trades Scholarship is available to high-school students nationwide and aims to reduce the cost of attending a trade school or participating in an apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program.
Each award recipient of a Graybar Construction Trades Scholarship will receive $1,000, renewable for a second year to total $2,000. Graybar will award up to 50 of these scholarships.
In order to be eligible for the Graybar Construction Trades Scholarship, applicants must:
- – Be graduating high-school seniors or have recently earned a high-school equivalency diploma (GED, HiSET, TASC)
- – Plan to enroll full-time in a non-profit community college, technical school, trade school, vocational school or apprenticeship program in the United States of America
- – Intend to complete an associate degree, pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, or certificate program leading to work in the construction trades (electrical, HVAC, plumbing, pipefitting, welding)
- – Achieved a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, 456 on the GED, or 60 on the HiSET (at least an 8 on each subtest) or equivalent scores on a state-sanctioned test
- – Demonstrate financial need
Students can find the link to apply for the scholarship at poweringtrades.com. Applicants must register and apply through Scholarship Central, a platform hosted by the St. Louis Community Foundation. In addition to the applicant link, there is a host of information at poweringtrades.com. This includes program requirements, downloadable flyers and posters, and a list of frequently asked questions.
The deadline for the 2020 scholarship application has been extended to May 15. Recipients will be announced later this year.
