14 weeks · evenings
Welding & Fabrication
MIG, stick and flux-core in our twelve-booth shop on 35th Avenue. You leave with an AWS D1.1 certification.
Launchpad Workforce · 3420 Broadway, Gary
Free training for a trade, and an employer who has already said yes.
Six to sixteen weeks, depending on the track. Tuition, boots, tools and bus passes are covered, and full attendance earns a $150 weekly stipend.
Three ways to start
- Tuesdays · 10 AMCome to an info sessionOne hour in Room 2, upstairs. Bring nothing. Thursday evenings at 6 too.
- Five minutesCheck if you qualifySix questions. A real person from admissions calls you back within two working days.
- January 12Pick your trackWelding, maintenance, CDL, patient care or IT support. Seats fill by mid-December.
Class of 2025
Counted from paystubs
Every figure below comes from the paystubs and offer letters graduates showed us, ninety days after they finished.
January to December 2025
1721
people started a new job within 90 days
- 1Out of 212 who finished a track.
- 2Per hour, before overtime.
- 3Class of 2024, checked by phone in October.
Audited figures are presented to our board every March.
Training tracks
Five tracks, all free, all with hiring partners
Each track was built with the employers who hire from it, so you learn the machines and paperwork they actually use.
16 weeks · days
Industrial Maintenance
Electrical basics, hydraulics, motors and PLCs, plus OSHA 10 and a forklift card.
6 weeks · days
CDL Class A
Classroom here, driving at our partner's yard in Merrillville. The permit test fee is on us.
10 weeks · days
Patient Care Technician
Vitals, EKG, phlebotomy and 80 clinical hours at two Lake County hospitals.
12 weeks · evenings and Saturdays
IT Support
Hardware, networking and help-desk practice toward CompTIA A+. You keep the refurbished laptop you train on.
Start to finish
From first visit to first paycheck
Most people go from info session to first day of class in about three weeks.
Step 1: Info session
An hour on a Tuesday morning or Thursday evening. You meet instructors and see the shop.
Session datesStep 2: Eligibility call
Fifteen minutes with admissions about where you live, your schedule and what gets in the way.
Step 3: Class
Six to sixteen weeks. We cover tuition, tools, boots and bus passes, and pay a $150 stipend for every full week.
Step 4: Hiring week
Employers come to Broadway to interview the class. A career coach stays in touch for a full year.
Graduates
In their words
I had a record and two kids. Nobody here asked me to explain it twice. I've been welding at Calumet Fabricators for eighteen months.
The stipend is what made it possible. I couldn't stop earning for ten weeks, and I didn't have to.
My coach still texts me every month. Last time it was about a lead job opening at my plant.
Straight answers
What people ask at the front desk
Is it really free?
Yes. Tuition, books, boots, tools and certification fees are paid by grants and local employers. You never get a bill.
I have a record. Can I still apply?
Yes. About a third of every class does. Some employers can't hire for certain convictions, and we'll tell you which tracks make sense on your eligibility call.
I don't have a high school diploma.
Welding, CDL and maintenance don't require one. For patient care and IT, our partner at the Broadway library runs free HSE classes, and you can start both at once.
How do I get here without a car?
We hand out weekly bus passes on your first day. Route 3 stops at 35th and Broadway, half a block from the door.
The January class has 64 seats.
Check if you qualify today and admissions will call you back within two working days.