Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International, has awarded $46,000 in scholarships to 26 students pursuing careers in manufacturing for the fall 2017 semester.

“We are pleased to award scholarships to these deserving students and are happy to assist them in reaching their academic goals,” said Edward Youdell, president of Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs. “They recognize that skilled manufacturing careers can be rewarding financially and fulfilling personally. The knowledge and skills they obtain will help them be more competitive in the current job market.”

Jobs in the skilled trades and engineering are among the most difficult to fill, Youdell added.

“With majors in machine tool and CNC (computer numeric control) technology, structural and pipe welding, sheet metal fabrication, engineering and precision machine technology, these students will be prepared for the skilled labor openings that American manufacturers must fill,” he said.

To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must be full-time students, meet a specified minimum GPA and enrolled in an engineering- or manufacturing-related course of study, or a trade or technical program with a focus on manufacturing.

In addition to the scholarship, which ranged between $1,500 and $2,500, each student received a copy of SolidWorks Corp.’s Student Design Kit CAD software package.

For more information on the scholarships, visit www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org/scholarships.