PRESS RELEASE
ORANGE CA, January 2022 — Fieldpiece Instruments, a leader in tool and test instruments for HVACR professionals for over 30 years, is joining forces with SkillsUSA to present $25,000 in scholarship opportunities as a way to give back to the industry it serves.
SkillsUSA, a consortium of students, teachers and trade industries working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce, has long had an aim to close the skills gap in the U.S. labor market by sponsoring heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) scholarships for trade and technical students. Thanks to the new grant from Fieldpiece Instruments, 10 SkillsUSA students studying HVACR in their junior or senior year of high school, or as college or postsecondary students, will receive a $2,500 #MasteroftheTrade scholarship to continue their education in a college or postsecondary HVACR technology program.
“Fieldpiece’s dedication to this field extends well beyond just equipping field professionals with the highest quality and most innovative tools so they can do their jobs faster, easier and better,” said Rachel Newport, director of marketing at Fieldpiece Instruments. “Fieldpiece is also committed to supporting the next generation of up-and-coming HVACR professionals in this fantastic trade. We’ve recently launched free online training resources via Fieldpiece University, an online platform designed to keep industry professionals at the top of their game. We are delighted to announce the Fieldpiece and SkillsUSA #MasteroftheTrade scholarship to further give back to the industry.”
Through the partnership, Fieldpiece Instruments is addressing a shortage of trained labor in the HVACR industry. According to one recent industry estimate, “80,000 HVACR technician jobs are currently unfilled — representing 39 percent of the total industry workforce. At the same time, the industry is losing an estimated 20,000 technician jobs per year due to the retirement of an aging workforce or basic career attrition rates.”
“We sincerely thank Fieldpiece Instruments for supporting America’s future skilled workforce,” said Chelle Travis, executive director at SkillsUSA. “There is a critical need for more HVACR technicians. We are rolling up our sleeves every day to provide career and technical education, and to forge meaningful partnerships between education and industry that result in a better-trained HVACR workforce and a shrinking skills gap. Working together with Fieldpiece Instruments, we can make this happen.”
To apply for the #MasteroftheTrade Scholarship, applicants must be SkillsUSA members enrolled in its HVACR or general construction programs who plan to study HVACR at the college or postsecondary level in the 2022-23 (high school seniors) or 2023-24 school year (high school juniors). The scholarship application must include a résumé and either an essay (300 words or fewer) or a video (1-3 minutes) answering the question: “Why have you chosen a career in HVACR?”
Applications must be submitted by March 1. Scholarship recipients will be announced May 16.
Scholarships will be awarded based on the merit of the application including the essay or video and the proficiency of the SkillsUSA Framework skills demonstrated in the application materials. To receive the funds, scholarship recipients must provide an acceptance letter from their postsecondary education program or their first semester tuition invoice. The funds will be distributed directly to the school.
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ABOUT SKILLSUSA
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen the nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of education and labor as integral to career and technical education. It has served nearly 13.8 million members since 1965. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.
ABOUT FIELDPIECE INSTRUMENTS
Fieldpiece Instruments is an innovative technology company focused on helping industry professionals do their jobs more easily, faster and better around the globe. It delivers on this promise through industry-leading devices with the broadest range of professional-grade tools and technology inspired by real-world application and field use. Fieldpiece is focused on serving the HVACR industry exclusively, enabling HVACR professionals to become Masters of the Trade. For more information, please visit www.fieldpiece.com, and be sure to follow Fieldpiece on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
CONTACTS
Fieldpiece Instruments, Leslie Licano, Beyond Fifteen Communications, Inc., [email protected]
SkillsUSA, Jane Short, [email protected] or Karen Kitzel, [email protected]
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