Welding & Fabrication
Typical program $4,000 – $14,000
AI can write.AI can code.AI cannot weld.
A $5,000 scholarship for the six trades the machines can’t touch. San Marcos, Texas.
- Next cut-off
- November 30, 2026
- Cadence
- Every quarter
The numbers behind the skilled-trades shortage
20:1
Skilled-trade openings per new worker
500K
Trade jobs sitting empty in the U.S.
$106K+
What specialist tradespeople earn
40%
Retiring from the field this decade
6
Eligible tracks
$5,000
Per award
4
Awards every year, one per quarter
Local
Licensed, hands-on, AI-resilient.
Everyone’s building AI. Nobody’s building what it runs on.
Data centers don’t build themselves. Someone welds the beams. Someone runs the wire. Someone keeps the coolant flowing at 3 AM in July. That someone gets paid. That someone won’t be replaced. That someone could be you.
§ Six eligible tracks
Six trades. One clean shot.
§ What we ask for
- Enrolled or accepted to an accredited program
- San Marcos–area resident, intent to practice locally
- Demonstrable financial need
- Personal statement + two letters of recommendation
§ The data is unambiguous
The shortage isn’t a forecast. It’s a vacancy.
20:1
Openings per worker
McKinsey & Company
500K
Jobs sitting empty
Industry estimates
$280K
Top data-center wages
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Why the trades
“Every room you have ever stood in was put there by a pair of hands. That has not changed, and it is not going to.”
TradeHands puts money behind the people learning that work — while the people who taught it are retiring faster than they are being replaced.
§ Three steps. Nothing weird.
How to apply
Step 01: Prove you’re in
Acceptance letter or current enrollment.
Step 02: Tell us why here
One page. Why this trade. Why here.
Step 03: Get the check
Paid directly toward whatever gets you licensed.
§ Questions
Straight answers.
The economy is being rebuilt.Build with it.
Four awards a year, one every quarter · Next cut-off November 30, 2026