Mind the Gap

Since 2022, the ASNT Foundation has supported students and professionals who are already pursuing careers in nondestructive testing (NDT). Now we want to reach two groups we have been missing: people who never find a way into the field, and technicians who get stuck once they are in it. The Foundation’s future lies in identifying those gaps and creating scholarships and grants to close them.

In September, I wrote that our scholarships and grants are a starting point, not a ceiling. Through candid conversations between the ASNT Foundation Trustees and the staff team, we realized something: we have long told companies that the Foundation is about grants, scholarships, and research, but we have never asked a corporate partner what they actually need from us. That leaves us with a blank slate.

The Foundation has awarded more than US$470 000 in scholarships and grants since 2022. Last year, it opened every award to applicants worldwide, and it has since received a record number of applications. The question now is whether our support reaches the points where the NDT pathway breaks down.

Where the Pathway Breaks

UT in a Box kits and free classroom experiments already address the first gap: awareness. Two more gaps sit just beyond it.

Getting in. A high school diploma is enough to start a career in NDT, yet our scholarships center on formal academic programs. A graduate who wants to start as a trainee and needs help with initial training or a first certification has had nowhere to turn. We have never directly funded that on-ramp.

Moving up. Working technicians face the same barrier one step later. The next certification level, a new method, or a trip to the ASNT Annual Conference can be out of reach because of cost, travel, or time away from work.

The stakes are real. The US NDT workforce numbers roughly 89 800 professionals. The Foundation’s economic impact research shows that the US market is on track to double by 2035, and experienced technicians are retiring faster than they are being replaced. Every barrier left standing becomes an unfilled position.

From Gaps to Grants

Closing these gaps changes how we talk with industry. The old ask was simple: please donate to this existing scholarship. The new conversation starts with the barrier and works backward. A partner helps shape the support, the Foundation ensures it serves the broader industry, and every program stays simple to access, because we are here to remove barriers, not add them.

In practice, that could mean:

• A first-entry pipeline scholarship for people entering NDT for the first time, including the technicians a company will need in five years but has not yet hired.

• Advancement support for technicians pursuing the certification that grows their careers and their value on the job.

• Training and conference grants that cover specialized training or travel to the Annual Conference.

• A company-named scholarship that supports the part of the pipeline a company depends on most.

Leadership Goes First

In October, the ASNT Foundation Board of Trustees put this approach into practice. The Trustees voted to personally fund a new Annual Conference Professional Development Scholarship for Level I and Level II technicians. It will cover conference and ASNT short course registration, plus travel, lodging, and meals, so an early-career technician can attend technical sessions, learn from industry experts, and build a network.

The Trustees then challenged the ASNT Board of Directors to do the same, and the Board accepted the challenge, creating a second scholarship. Two early-career technicians who might have stayed home will now be in the room.

Good for Business, at Every Size

This is an investment, not just generosity. A scholarship puts a company’s name in front of students and early-career technicians as they choose a career and an employer, and funding employee advancement builds loyalty.

Every company has a way in. A large company might fund a named scholarship program. A mid-sized company might sponsor conference travel grants. A small company might make an annual gift or match its employees’ donations dollar for dollar.

The Foundation We Are Building

Our goal is a Foundation that maps the path into and through NDT, finds where it breaks, and works with industry to fund the fix. We will measure success not by how many programs appear on our website, but by how many barriers come down.

Our Trustees and the ASNT Board of Directors have shown what that looks like. Now we extend the same challenge to the companies that depend on NDT. It starts with a conversation, and I hope you will start one with us at Foundation.

Author

Nealy Patty, CAE, SPHR, is the Interim Executive Director of the ASNT Foundation. She can be reached via email.