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CWB Foundation Releases 2025-2026 Annual Report Highlighting the Power of Partnership in Skilled Trades Development

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As Canada continues to invest in building a strong skilled trades workforce across sectors including construction, manufacturing, infrastructure and energy, investments in welding education help create pathways to future careers.

TORONTO, Sept. 23, 2026 /CNW/ — The CWB Foundation has published its 2025-2026 Annual Report, Leveraging Partnerships to Build Stronger Pathways. Through working with partners in education, industry, labour, government and communities, they have been working to enhance welding and joining education and open pathways to Canada’s skilled trades workforce.

The Foundation provided $4.1 million to welding and joining education and industry during the past fiscal year through various programs and partnerships. From creating career awareness to improving safety and welding education, the Foundation continues to make an impact in communities across Canada by continuing to fund student bursaries, improve classrooms and provide modernized equipment.

“Strong skilled trades pathways depend on more than recruitment. Learners need access to quality welding education, modern and safe training environments, industry-aligned skills, and clear connections to employment,” said Susan Crowley, Executive Director of the CWB Foundation. “Through partnerships with education, industry, government and communities, we’re helping create opportunities for Canadians to discover welding careers, develop the skills they need and contribute to the workforce needs of critical sectors across the country.”

Strategic partnerships allow the CWB Foundation to extend the reach of its investments. For every one dollar invested by the CWB Foundation, $4.56 in total impact was generated with support from partners in education, government and industry.

Highlights from the CWB Foundation 2025-2026 Annual Report include:

510 youth participated in Mind Over Metal™ and Arx and Sparx welding camps. In addition, more than 9,800 people explored welding through simulator experiences at career fairs and events.220 educators and career counsellors participated in educator training designed to strengthen technical welding knowledge and industry-relevant instruction.325 participants took part in pre-employment programming, with 177 CSA W47.1 welder qualifications issued through pre-employment and upskilling initiatives.384 PPE kits were provided to 42 Canadian secondary schools, giving 4,119 students access to upgraded protective equipment.57 schools requested $1.64 million in equipment and technology advancement support to improve welding and technical education spaces, which demonstrates the continued need for investment in modern, industry-aligned training environments.13 high school students in a Durham, Ontario, partnership program received apprenticeship offers upon completion and collectively earned 28 CWB welder qualifications.

Welding and joining are gateway skills for multiple Red Seal trades and critical sectors including construction, manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, transportation, and advanced technologies. Through continued collaboration with its partners in education, industry, government and communities, the Foundation will continue strengthening pathways from career awareness and education to skills development, qualification, and employment–helping Canadians discover, train for and succeed in rewarding skilled trades careers.

Read the full 2025-2026 CWB Foundation Annual Report to explore the programs, partnerships and impact helping to strengthen Canada’s skilled trades workforce:
www.cwbweldingfoundation.org/impact-reports/

About the CWB Foundation

The CWB Foundation is a national charitable organization that connects industry, education, government and communities to strengthen Canada’s skilled trades workforce through welding and materials joining, gateway skills that are required by multiple Red Seal trades and support critical industries across the country.

Founded by the Canadian Welding Bureau, the Foundation helps address skilled labour shortages by supporting career awareness, skills development and access to quality training opportunities. Drawing on its national network and expertise in welding education, labour market needs and industry best practices, it helps forge pathways that connect Canadians to rewarding careers while supporting employers and industries nationally.

By building partnerships, sharing industry knowledge and promoting excellence in welding education and workforce development, the Foundation helps ensure Canada has the skilled talent needed to support economic growth, innovation and long-term prosperity.

SOURCE CWB Welding Foundation

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The Clean Energy Association of New Mexico Comments on the State Land Uranium Ban

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GRANTS, N.M., Sept. 23, 2026 /CNW/ — The Clean Energy Association of New Mexico (CLEAN) today expressed opposition to the Land Commission of the State of New Mexico’s Executive Order (“Order”) banning uranium exploration, development, and extraction on State lands.

CLEAN is disappointed by the Order, which, although limited in scope, runs counter to the economic and energy interests of New Mexico and its citizens. The Order only applies to State Lands and at a time when the State has not granted a new uranium lease on State lands in well over a decade. That said, this action continues to severely limit economic activity on State lands which would bring economic benefit, access to affordable and safe sources of domestic energy, and the opportunity to benefit from significant advances in environmentally responsible uranium extraction technology.

The timing and intent of restricting an economic activity which has evolved substantially over the past six decades is unfortunate. Many of the historic uranium-related legacy issues occurred approximately 60 years ago, before the implementation of the New Mexico Mining Act of 1993 and other modern safety, environmental, and operational standards.

It is misleading to compare any modern industry solely with the way it operated 60 years ago. Virtually every part of our economy has changed dramatically since then. Automotive manufacturing, air travel, energy production, construction, agriculture, and other industries now rely on technologies, safeguards, operating practices, and regulatory requirements that would have been unfamiliar six decades ago. The uranium industry and the companies that comprise it have undergone that same transformation.

“The United States is the world’s largest consumer of nuclear energy and the uranium that powers the reactors is over 90% sourced from outside the United States. The pursuit of cost-effective clean energy, and growing national security needs, has created a renewed demand for domestic uranium. This reality combined with strong domestic production potential provides New Mexico with the opportunity to be a leader in the United States,” said Janet Lee-Sheriff, President and Director of CLEAN. “This moment presents a strong economic opportunity for New Mexico, its citizens, and its communities due to the significant resources in the State. While we fully recognize that past practices created serious issues, today’s proven technologies–such as In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) of uranium–provides safe and responsible options. New Mexico is a national leader in uranium resources, and this abundance combined with strong leadership, can create significant wealth and benefits for the State and its people when resources are developed properly. ISR can accomplish this while protecting the land, water, air, and people of New Mexico.”

CLEAN welcomes the opportunity to meet with communities, elected and regulatory officials, and community groups for healthy dialogue and information sharing. Constructive engagement and an understanding of modern uranium recovery practices are essential to sound decision-making about New Mexico’s energy and economic future.

About In-Situ Recovery Technology
In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) offers a minimally intrusive, eco-friendly, and economically competitive approach to mineral extraction. It’s a proven, successful technique for extracting uranium, utilized in the United States in Texas, Nebraska and Wyoming. Unlike traditional mining, ISR utilizes wellfield technology to extract uranium from ISR-amenable, sandstone- hosted deposits. This technology is responsible for approximately 60% of all uranium extraction in the world. The NRC has stated that there has never been an incident of the contamination of drinking water from the ISR process.1

1Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (2008). Executive Director’s Response to Public Comment, Permit No. UR03070

About the Clean Energy Association of New Mexico
The Clean Energy Association of New Mexico (CLEAN) provides education, awareness, and innovative tools to support a strong and safe nuclear energy sector needed to fuel the U.S. nuclear renaissance. CLEAN advocates for responsible uranium extraction and recovery through in-situ recovery (“ISR”), working to build sustainable socio-economic benefits for local communities and the State while respecting the land, water, air, and people. CLEAN hosted the inaugural Nuclear in New Mexico conference in April 2026 and will host the 2nd annual conference in May 2027.

www.CleanNM.org

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SOURCE Clean Energy Association of New Mexico

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Knowtion Health and Ghamut Launch Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Provider Revenue Cycle Management Solutions

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Collaboration advances Knowtion’s broader AI strategy to augment reimbursement recovery across the most complex post-claim revenue cycle challenges

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Knowtion Health, a healthcare company specializing in complex revenue recovery for providers, today announced the launch of a strategic partnership with Ghamut Corporation, an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy and development firm, to apply AI to the most complex revenue cycle challenges that require more than rules-based automation. The partnership starts with a targeted application of AI within the appeals process to support specialists as they navigate claims requiring complex review. This initiative represents the next step in expanding Knowtion’s use of AI across complex revenue cycle challenges.

The most challenging revenue cycle work rarely follows predictable, repeatable patterns. Specialists often must review lengthy medical records, payer policies, state and federal regulatory rules and clinical guidelines before determining how to proceed. To address this challenge, Knowtion’s solutions team identified opportunities to deploy AI to augment the support available to specialists and defined how the technology should work, drawing on the company’s claims history, payer knowledge and revenue cycle domain expertise. Working alongside that team, Ghamut supported the technical implementation. The result is technology designed to strengthen outcomes and reduce errors, while allowing specialists to use their judgment to optimize the output.

“Our specialists bring the judgment and experience needed to navigate complex revenue recovery,” said Mikky Franklin, chief delivery officer, Knowtion Health. “Working with Ghamut gives them a more powerful way to surface the information and context they need to make decisions and accelerate stronger appeals. This is one of several ways we plan to apply AI to strengthen how we serve our clients.”

Ghamut brings deep technical and scientific expertise in applied AI, having led or implemented more than $250 million in AI initiatives across industry, government and academic institutions. That caliber of technical rigor and critical thinking is what allows the partnership to move beyond basic automation and build AI that surfaces the context specialists need.

The AI-enabled approach helps specialists surface and synthesize relevant clinical information more efficiently, enabling them to evaluate more eligible claims and build comprehensive, well-supported arguments for payment. Development and use of the approach are governed by the company’s existing security and privacy protocols for healthcare provider and patient information.

Internal testing found that the AI support substantially lifts payment recovery rates. The findings demonstrate the potential of combining AI with specialist judgment to build stronger, better-supported appeals and help health systems recover additional revenue.

“Effective AI starts with the right ingredients,” said Mohammad Ghassemi, Ph.D., founding partner of Ghamut. “At Knowtion, those ingredients included a clear solution vision, years of complex claims data and people who possess deep domain experience. Our role was to translate those elements into a practical solution while preserving the human judgment at the center of the work. That combination is what turns technical possibility into practical value and allows us to continue progressing.”

Beyond appeals, Knowtion is applying this approach to other complex areas of revenue cycle work, with additional AI-driven capabilities already underway. Each is designed to help specialists identify and pursue more recovery opportunities, expand the range of claims evaluated, and ultimately recover more revenue for health systems.

About Ghamut Corporation
Founded in 2016 by MIT and Boston Consulting Group alumni, Ghamut Corporation is a boutique AI consulting firm that helps organizations identify where AI can create the most value and leads execution from strategy through deployment. The team has led or implemented more than $250 million in AI initiatives across industry, government, and academic institutions. Its work has been featured in The Economist and The Wall Street Journal and has included invited testimony before the U.S. Congress on AI and health. Learn more at ghamut.com.

About Knowtion Health
Founded in 2008, Knowtion Health is an AI- and technology-enabled revenue cycle management company helping hospitals recover reimbursement on complex, unresolved claims and strengthen financial performance. Serving more than 70 health systems and over 660 hospitals nationwide, Knowtion Health manages billions annually in outstanding-balance accounts, combining intelligent technology with specialized expertise to deliver measurable results for healthcare providers. Recognized for four consecutive years as one of the fastest-growing companies on the Inc. 5000 list, Knowtion Health is trusted by providers seeking more effective, scalable solutions.

The company is backed by Arsenal Capital Partners and Sunstone Partners, supporting continued innovation and growth. For more information, visit KnowtionHealth.com.

Media Contact:
Kate Kaminsky
AOx3, 120/80Group
Email: kate@12080group.com
Phone: 973-900-3882

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SOURCE Knowtion Health

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Arizona Voters Want More Done to Develop Arizona’s Own Talent and Help People Build Their Futures Here

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New Arizona Voters’ Agenda findings point to a broader workforce agenda spanning education and career pathways, affordability, housing, and childcare

PHOENIX, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — New statewide, nonpartisan public opinion research from Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) shows that Arizona voters across political affiliations and age groups want more done to develop the skills and talents of the state’s own students and workers.

The latest findings from the 2026 Arizona Voters’ Agenda reveal strong support for education and training opportunities that lead to good careers and expanding access to affordable childcare. The majority of voters also say it is difficult to improve their financial circumstances, citing wages that do not keep pace with living costs and high housing costs as the leading barriers to getting ahead. The findings point to broad agreement on the need for developing and retaining Arizona’s talent that includes both pathways to opportunity and the conditions that allow people to pursue them and build their lives here.

“Arizona’s future will be shaped by whether Arizonans are supported and equipped to develop their potential and see a future for themselves here,” said Dr. Sybil Francis, Chair, President & CEO of CFA. “These findings give us a fuller picture of what it is that Arizonans are looking for in building their lives here and what it will take for them to be successful. The more success Arizonans enjoy the better off we will be as a state. Our leaders need to embrace that and act on it.

Voters See Arizona’s Own Students and Workers as Central to Economic Success

Nine in ten voters (91%) agree that “Arizona’s long-term economic success depends on doing more to develop the skills and talents of its own students and workers, not just attracting skilled workers from other states.” Sixty-nine percent strongly agree. The agreement includes 90% of Republicans, 92% of independent and unaffiliated voters, and 93% of Democrats, and all age groups.

Voters overwhelmingly support specific actions to develop that talent. Across political affiliations and generations, they agree on:

Increasing access to affordable, high-quality early learning for three- and four-year-oldsExpanding career exploration before graduation, apprenticeships, and other work-based learningIncreasing the number who pursue and complete education or training beyond high school

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SOURCE Center for the Future of Arizona

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