Some may call the welding class at Owens Community College organized chaos.
Some may not even call it a class. Whatever you call it, a bunch of welders are
creating some of the most unique art work around. Jim Gilmore of Owens shares the following with the Toledo
Blade,
“You have 14 people doing their own thing, working on their own processes, so
as an instructor you’re dealing with them one on one. The intermediate class has been taking place for nine years and it often
fills up,” he said. “Students receive two credit hours for it and the fee is
$145, so the total cost is about $500, but many repeat the elective class as
they work on projects.”
Here’s what’s happening in the rest of the welding world this week:
Welding Industry
EBTEC
Gains GEAE approval for TIG welding to P8TF3 – CF101: “EBTEC
Corporation announced recently that it has been approved by General Electric
Aircraft Engines for TIG welding per Specification P8TF3 – CF01. EBTEC joins an
elite sector of the Aerospace Industry’s suppliers that offer these services to
GE and to GE sub-tier suppliers for this process.”
Welding Education
New
River Community College in West Virginia Displays State of the Art Welding
Labs: “New River Community and Technical College announces full,
state-of-the-art welding labs are operational at both its Lewisburg and Ghent
campuses. While New River has offered a variety of certificates and degrees in
Lewisburg’s lab for some time, Ghent’s full lab at the Advanced Technology
Center is newly installed and has ‘students working on real, hands-on projects
that can be applied to real world problems on the job,’ according to instructor
Brad Veneri.”
High
School Students Compete in Welding Competition: “Great Falls College MSU
hosted the Regional Skills USA Competition. The four hour regional contest
featured 35 high school students from the area. The challenge prepares the
students for the state competition in Havre [Montana] in April. The majority of
the teens here want to have careers in welding or construction.”
Virginia
School of Metal Sparks Interest in Welding: “Steve Brownell is sparking some
local interest in the art and science of welding. Brownell recently opened the
Virginia School of Metal. The goal is to teach students a technical skill that’s
not only fun, but something that has practical applications. ‘From the
architectural high-end quality metal work standpoint, there’s a need for what we
do — we have a niche in the market,” Brownell said. “I always had a desire, just
that little inner voice to teach and share what I’ve learned over the last 40
years.’”
Texas
Welding Program Validated by Eastman Chemical Co.: “Kilgore College is
pleased to announce that its Welding Technology Program has been named a
‘Validated Program’ by Eastman Chemical Co., Texas Operations. The award, given
by the Workforce Development Team at Eastman, assures that graduates from KC’s
welding program hired by Eastman will receive higher starting pay, more frequent
pay increases and additional scholarships.”
Welding Jobs
Saint
Louis Today, No Bachelor’s Degree? There Are Still Good Jobs: “John Wood,
vice president for student services at Ranken Technical College, says local
factories have been hiring, part of a general revival in U.S. manufacturing.
‘The hot jobs now are in manufacturing, particularly in welding and precision
machinery,’ Wood says.”
Uncertainty
Over Conflicting Job Reports in Wisconsin: “The statistics suggest the
current economy is sorely lacking in jobs for college graduates. And perhaps,
that some of these folks might have been better off getting a technical college
degree. But these are also jobs that can’t be moved overseas and that often pay
more (with tips) than many Milwaukee companies are willing to pay.”
Skilled
Workers Needed to Fill Jobs in Mississippi: “While presenting the Attala
County Board of Supervisors with complete results of the Mid-Mississippi Job
Fair Monday, Kosciusko-Attala Development Corporation President Steve Zea said
that welding positions are going unfilled in our area and surrounding area
because of lack of skills. ‘The most important message is that we’ve got to get
some of our folk some additional skill levels,’ Zea said. ‘If they had the skill
levels, there are jobs out there. It’s that simple.There are jobs going unfilled
right here in Attala County and surrounding counties that would would make
someone a very livable wage.’”
Welding Events
Weld Cracking
Conference: “To find out what it takes to eliminate weld cracks, go out of
your way to make plans to attend a new and different AWS Conference on Weld
Cracking which will be held on March 26-27, 2013 in Las Vegas. The experts will
be there, armed with solutions to many of your problems.”
Welding Gone Wrong
Welding
Spark Causes Fire in Garage: “Firefighters were called to 427 Webber Pond
Road to put out a fire in the garage of Bruce and Kathy Calkins, according to
Chief Eric Rowe. Rowe said the fire started in the garage where someone had been
welding, and a spark appeared to have ignited the wooden floor. The fire then
spread into cellar beams under the garage floor.”
Welding
Accident Under Investigation in Shawnee, Kansas: “Police said it appeared
the explosion involved some sort of welding equipment. The investigation into
the accident is being turned over to members of the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration.”
Welding
Accident Damages Antique Cars: “A lifelong antique car collector is trying
to salvage what’s left after a garage fire destroyed six of his classic
automobiles. It happened Friday night around 8:00 at the man’s Bloomington home.
75-year-old John Tornquist said the fire was an accident. He said he had been
welding in his garage when he went into the house for dinner and head a
‘pop.’”
