Praxair Kicks-Off Second Year of Skills Pipeline Workforce Development Program in Louisiana; Providing More Than $200,000 in Scholarships

DANBURY, Conn.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX), a global industrial gas company, announced the kick-off of the second year of its Skills Pipeline™ workforce development program. Working together with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS), the program helps address the need for skilled workers in today’s global economy.

Praxair will invest more than $200,000 to train over 50 welders in an accelerated one-year curriculum. Funded by Praxair’s Global Giving Program, scholarships will be offered through Baton Rouge Community College and SOWELA Technical Community College. This initiative is scheduled to begin in July, with community information events beginning in June.

“We began this effort to help address the severe shortage of skilled trades needed to support growth in the Gulf Coast,” said Dr. Anne Roby, senior vice president at Praxair. “These new welders are already making their mark, working for many employers including Praxair, our customers and other industrial companies in the area. We are excited to kick-off a second year of the Praxair Skills Pipeline program with LCTCS and welcome the next class of students.”

“The partnership and commitment from Praxair to continue investing in our students, our colleges and the workforce of Louisiana is extraordinary,” said Dr. Monty Sullivan, president of the LCTCS. “We are proud of the success of the Skills Pipeline program and look forward to continuing to make this public-private partnership the model for workforce development in the nation.”

In 2015, 87 new welders in Louisiana graduated from the inaugural class of the Skills Pipeline program. This is the most recent community engagement program demonstrating Praxair’s commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in the communities in which it operates. The company will be expanding the initiative to other areas across the country and by the end of 2016 will have invested more than $1 million in welding workforce development through the program.

The scholarships provide students access to an accelerated curriculum as well as career-readiness content. Courses include:

• Shielded Metal Arc Welding
• Gas Metal Arc Welding
• Flux Cored Arc Welding
• Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
• Manual Oxyfuel Gas Cutting
• Mechanized Oxyfuel Gas Cutting
• Manual Plasma Arc Cutting
• Manual Air Carbon Arc Cutting

About Praxair

Praxair, Inc., a Fortune 250 company with 2015 sales of $11 billion, is a leading industrial gas company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, primary metals and many others. More information about Praxair, Inc. is available at www.praxair.com.

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Praxair, Inc.
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