Weekly Welding Roundup—Welding News

Welding students at Grayson
College have found a way to use their welding guns to make their communities
stronger. Over the past year several student welders have been working with
their instructor to create works of art that are then auctioned off at charity
fundraisers. They have raised thousands of dollars through this initiative,
while also providing the welding training they need for their future careers.

That’s not the only good news in the welding world. Welding jobs and
opportunities continue to grow.

Welding Industry

GE
CEO Jeff Immelt Leads Re-shoring Movement Among Manufacturers:
“Manufacturing in the US is key to jobs, to growth, to innovation and
prosperity. In a rare show of collaborative bipartisanship, leaders from both
political parties urged action on key areas of education, training, immigration,
investment and taxes to facilitate the change.”

Hundreds
of Firms Will Benefit from Midwest High Speed Rail: “The report released
Friday by the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center found that 460
manufacturers in seven Midwest states are poised to reap new business, along
with a dozen more highly visible companies that make rail cars and locomotives.
Those additional supply-chain manufacturers make everything from seats, couplers
and bolts to ceiling panels, interior lighting and air horns. They also cut
sheet metal, provide electronics and communications equipment, and supply track
maintenance machinery.”

Welding Education

International
Training Center Expands in Las Vegas: “A tank for underwater welding.
Industrial robots. A pair of 35-ton overhead cranes. Those are some of the
pieces of equipment planned for an upgraded carpenters union training center in
Las Vegas.”

Community
College Doubles Welding Training Space: “‘This expansion was necessary
because we did not have the ability to do heavy plate welding in our current lab
and there has been a considerable demand for welders from employers in our
area,’ said Mike Shiels, dean of WCTC’s School of Applied Technologies, in a
prepared statement. ‘We needed to expand capacity to graduate more students from
our welding programs and deliver more short-term training programs.’”

Haney
Technical College Hosts Welding Competition: “Haney Technical Center
is hosting a region-wide welding event in the Skills USA competition. There is
high school and post secondary division to compete in three categories, which
include, basic welding, welding fabrication, and welding sculpture. The
competition is region-wide with schools from Quincy all the way to
Pensacola.”

Welding Jobs

Wisconsin
Governor Scott Walker Prepares for Welding Job Growth: “Walker wants to
invest $100 million to prepare the state workforce for jobs in high demand, such
as welding and nursing. Some of the money would be earmarked for improved
tracking job of openings, while increasing amounts of state aid to technical
schools and universities would be tied to them providing the graduates
businesses need.”

Women
Hold Their Own As Welding Opportunities Grow: “Many women… have had to
discover new careers after becoming dislocated workers during the recession.
And, unlike when they entered the workforce, vocational careers are viable. ‘Now
they’re looking at high tech, high paying jobs,’ says Dave Deal, Department
Chair for Industry and Skilled Trades at Aiken Technical College. ‘Technical
jobs are very attractive, and now they’re asking themselves, Why not?’”

Welding Events

AWS
Shipbuilding Conference: Wyndham Riverfront New
Orleans, LA February 26–27, 2013.

Weld
Cracking Conference: Las Vegas, NV. March 26-27,
2013

Welding Gone Wrong

Trailer
Catches on Fire Due to Welding Sparks: “The owners were reinforcing parts of
the trailer by welding metal braces to the outside, when the heat from the
welding passed through and into the material inside, igniting it, and filling
the trailer with smoke. Chief Robert Stoker, St. George Fire Department,
estimates the loss to be around $15,000 to $20,000, and possibly totaled.”

Piece
of Machinery Kills Miner in Welding Accident: “52-year-old Jerry Watts was
welding on the liner of a bulldozer blade when a jack slipped and Watts was
struck in the head by the liner.”

The post Weekly Welding Roundup—Welding News appeared first on Weld My World.