Hypertherm receives first-ever “Award of Excellence” from Creative Workforce Solutions

Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, today announced its receipt of the Creative Workforce Solutions Award of Excellence, a newly created award to recognize Hypertherm’s work in hiring and supporting individuals with disabilities or other significant employment barriers.

In total, more than 50 Creative Workforce Solutions clients have found employment at Hypertherm during the past two and a half years. The vast majority—ninety percent—of whom are still working at Hypertherm. The company offers full accommodations for Associates and candidates including job coaching, assistive technology, gender-neutral restrooms, support of preferred names and gender pronouns, supportive substance abuse policies, and worksite assessments. In addition, Hypertherm provides accessibility and accommodations at the Hypertherm Technical Training Institute—its internal machine operator training program.

The award is especially timely given that 2020 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act and October is Disability Awareness Month. Representatives from Creative Workforce Solutions, the Vermont Association of Business, Industry, and Rehabilitation, and several groups from the State of Vermont presented the award to Hypertherm during a virtual awards ceremony. Video is available of that event along with congratulatory remarks from United States Senator Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire State Senator Martha Hennessey, and former Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court John Broderick.

“Many businesses have adopted diverse, inclusive hiring practices that accommodate and support individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment during the course of these past three decades,” said Amanda Moore, Business Account Manager for Creative Workforce Solutions.” “However, Hypertherm has gone even further—above and beyond really—to truly support these individuals by actively recruiting, hiring, supporting, and accommodating people with a wide range of disabilities and barriers to employment. This extraordinary success can be attributed to Hypertherm embodying the diverse, inclusive practices that are essential for the support of individuals with disabilities and barriers to employment.”

“We are honored to work with two incredible organizations to connect the immense talent of people with varying abilities to a career at Hypertherm,” said Jenny Levy, Hypertherm’s Vice President of People, Community & Environment. “Opening our doors to people across a spectrum of abilities to work here and become Owners at Hypertherm makes our organization stronger, in keeping with our values of respect, inclusion, and diversity.”

Creative Workforce Solutions, an employment initiative of the Vermont Agency of Human Services, serves both jobseekers and employers across Vermont by offering consistent, coordinated workforce development in local communities. With a variety of innovative placement options, CWS is designed to streamline business access to qualified candidates throughout Vermont. To learn more, please visit www.cwsvt.com.

Hypertherm engineers and manufactures industrial cutting products used by companies around the world to build ships, airplanes, and railcars, construct steel buildings, manufacture heavy equipment, and more. Its products include cutting systems, CNCs, and software trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses. Founded in 1968 and based in New Hampshire, Hypertherm is a 100 percent Associate owned company, employing more than 1,800 Associates, with operations and partner representation worldwide. Learn more at www.hypertherm.com.