SAN DIEGO — Workshops for Warriors (WFW), a nonprofit school providing Veterans, Wounded Warriors, and Transitioning Service Members free training and nationally recognized industry credentials in the advanced manufacturing industry, announced they were awarded a $10,000 economic mobility grant from Bank of America to be used toward training program costs.
“Workshops for Warriors addresses two pressing needs — one being the challenges Veterans and Transitioning Service Members face as they transition back into civilian life, and the second being the lack of skilled workers with nationally recognized credentials in the advanced manufacturing industry,” said Hernán Luis y Prado, founder and CEO of Workshops for Warriors. “We are incredibly grateful to Bank of America for supporting our training programs. With around 550 Veterans seeking enrollment each semester, 2 million jobs in the advanced manufacturing industry that need to be filled, and only enough funding to fund approximately 120 graduates per year at Workshops for Warriors, there is a tremendous need to grow our programs. Grants like the one Bank of America awarded us bring us one step closer to growing our impact.”
Founded in 2008, Workshops for Warriors offers classes in advanced CNC manufacturing, CAD/CAM programming, advanced welding/fabrication, machinery repair, CNC Laser and Waterjet, and most recently Starrett & Snap-On Tools and 3D printing. The nonprofit training center currently receives no Federal, State, or local funding and relies on the generosity of corporate and private donations. Training is completely free to the Veterans, Wounded Warriors, and Transitioning Service Members attending, and 83 percent of all donations go straight to training programs.
Photo from another grant Bank of America awarded Workshops for Warriors in 2016. Rick Benito presents the check to Founder and CEO Hernán Luis y Prado, COO and Chief Academic Officer Rachel Luis y Prado, and Workshops for Warriors students.“Bank of America looks to remove barriers to economic mobility by working with nonprofits like Workshops for Warriors that connect people to long-term success through skill-building and jobs,” said Rick Bregman, San Diego market president, Bank of America.
Workshops for Warriors offers nationally recognized advanced manufacturing credentials accredited by Mastercam University, SolidWorks, the American Welding Society (AWS), the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS), Immerse2Learn, and the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3). Workshops for Warriors training programs can be replicated all across the nation. To learn more about different ways to donate and support, visit https://workshopsforwarriors.org/donate.
See IMPO’s Onsite feature on Workshops for Warriors here.
