Peter Helmschrott had been a day laborer and a former prison inmate. When he tried to get his life back on track, he could only find jobs that paid an unsustainable $10 an hour.
Helmschrott looked for new job opportunities where he could apply himself and get his life back on track, and that’s when he learned that welding could pay a good salary and offer plenty of jobs. However, he couldn’t afford the certification programs.
When Helmschrott learned about the welding program offered by the Purdue Extension: a two-week course that provided just enough welding training to land a job, he scraped together the $200 to pay for the course and worked hard to succeed. He soon found a job at a nearby company, and he enjoys coming to work every day.
And while most welding programs aren’t that cheap, the job boom in welding right now means that there are lots of great training programs spreading across America.
Welding Jobs
Welding Technology Lands at #7 for Careers: “Yesterday, welders learned their trade at the side of their experienced seniors. Today, welders are joining special metals and materials and programming and operating advanced robotic welders.”
Welding Jobs Part of Oil and Gas Boom in Texas: “Living up to its reputation as a state rich with oil and gas deposits, Texas is home of several very active shale plays, including increased exploration and drilling in the Permian Basin in West Texas.
This uptick in exploration and production is putting a crunch on housing.
eateries and other businesses in this region, not to mention the job boom
across South Texas, and this is only inland activity. There also are jobs going
unfilled in deepwater drilling because of a shortage of skilled, non-engineering
personnel.”
Welding Training Steps Up to Meet Jobs Coming to Ohio: “Amongwelders, those who are certified to work on pipes are considered the best of the best. And as the oil and gas industry’s presence has increased in Ohio, demand for those skills has increased, said Tim Broseus, business and industrial training coordinator at the Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County.”
Welding Education
Students at Eunice, LA Career and Technology Center Learn about Tulsa Welding School: “Recently students heard from Salvatore Lattero with the Tulsa Welding School. Lattero spoke about the school’s many course offerings; including their welding and pipefitting programs, the enrollment process, financial aide assistance, housing support, temporary job assistance while in school and career opportunities upon graduation.”
Robotic Welding Program Takes Off in Wisconsin: “Learning to weld is normally a hands-on experience, but 14 Fox Valley Technical College students are taking a very hands-off approach to a new course. Fox Valley Tech has introduced a course in robotic welding at its Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center on Oshkosh’s south side this semester as it responds to changing demands of area manufacturers.”
Moss Point Welding Instructor Cynthia Harris Receives Another
Award: “In three short years Cynthia Harris Moss Point Career and Technical
Education Center Welding Instructor has been honored as a top educator in many
ways. She received the District American Welding Society (AWS) educator of the
year award in February of this year. She was chosen for her outstanding role as
a trendsetter in welding education. She also received the AWS section educator
of the year award in 2011 and 2012.”
Lincoln Electric’s Simulator Helps Students Learn from Their Mistakes: A welding student completes a welding pass, “Then he pushes a few buttons on the Lincoln Electric VR-Tex 360 Virtual Welding simulator – and does it again. The $60,000 machine – delivered in early August – is the latest teaching tool at his disposal to help his students sharpen their skills.
After each “weld” the computer screen displays a graph that tells the student
exactly how they did, something that isn’t always possible with a real weld. It
measures their welding angle, arc length, speed and can even tell them if they
would have left a void.”
Battle Creek Michigan College Expands Welding Program:
“Kellogg Community College will receive $2.7 million from the U.S. Department of
Labor to purchase manufacturing equipment and expand training programs as part
of a nationwide effort to prepare unemployed workers for emerging jobs.
The three-year grant to KCC is part of an eight-college, $24.9 million effort
in Michigan to support workforce preparation and employer needs in advanced
manufacturing.”
Welding Events
Fabtech Dissimilar Metals Conference
This conference covers welding, examination, and post-weld heat treatment of
dissimilar joints, including carbon-steel, nickel-base, stainless, chrome-moly
and other alloys. Also covers topics such as explosive welding and how standards
address the complicated nature of dissimilar welds.
Welding Gone Wrong
Welder at Waste Water Treatment Plant Dies from Explosion:
“One of two people injured in an explosive fire last week at the village of
Canastota’s wastewater treatment plant has died, police and family members said. Richard C. “Rick” Whitney Jr., 58, of Bernhards Bay, was a steamfitter working for a subcontractor at the wastewater treatment plant Wednesday when the accident occurred, officials said.”
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