Prison inmates are hoping their careers “take a dive” in the right direction through the diving program at Chino State Prison through the SoCal Connected program run by Fred Johnson. Inmates are able to take a deep sea diving course while incarcerated, and graduates of the program have benefited from it greatly upon release. According to KCET.org:
“Johnson and the diving school are still going strong, averaging about 17 students per 18-month class cycle. Since 2011, 90 men have been accepted to the program and 45 have graduated, some who stay on as teaching aides.”
The program has led to under water welding jobs and other deep-sea diving jobs. However, program graduates note that the challenges of the course have been enough to help them succeed in any career. In order to even enter the program, inmates must swim five miles—a feat that inspires them to take on future challenges.
Looking for challenging work? There’s plenty to go around in this week’s welding round up:
Welding Industry
Robotic Friction Stir Welding Process Leads to Lighter Cars: “With classic welding methods, joining of dissimilar materials has not been possible. With friction stir welding, on the other hand, high quality dissimilar joints can be obtained. The welding temperature is kept below the melting point, which means that the alloy properties are not destroyed and strong joints are achieved.”
Stud Welding Company Remains Family Business in New Jersey: “The company, International Welding Technologies, Inc., a family-owned firm located in an industrial zone on Egg Harbor Road, manufactures stud welding equipment that is used in the military and globally by major companies in the aerospace industry, including Rolls Royce and Boeing.
Although stud welding, a method of joining a stud and a piece of metal, may not be a phrase most people are familiar with, it is part of everyone’s life, according to Neil Wilkinson, a partner with his brother, Jason, in the business founded by their father, Harold, in 1990 in his Medford home.”
Welding Jobs
Greater Waco Advanced Manufacturing Academy Graduates Find Jobs: “Of the 35 students who completed the academy’s welding production program, five walked away with job offers in hand at places like Caterpillar, Central Texas Iron Works and Behlen Manufacturing.
Wednesday’s event including a “signing ceremony” modeled after draft-day events organized by the NFL and NBA. Signees received a company hat and T-shirt as their job offers were announced.”
Shortage of Welders Becomes Big Challenge for Welding and Gas Industries: “The strains on labor capacity in oil and gas construction markets worldwide are becoming increasingly well known. These strains continue to affect forecasted project costs, and several large capital projects have already been delayed or canceled (see Shell’s Louisiana gas-to-liquids plant as an example) as a result of rising costs and questionable long-term profitability projections.
As demand continues to increase in the face of the liquefied natural gas export gold rush, construction firms are faced with unprecedented pressures to retain and grow talent.”
Welding Education
Cape May, NJ High School Welding Students Graduate: “Eight seniors in the welding technology program at the Cape May County Technical High School recently earned their American Welding Society 1G Certification, which is needed for entry-level jobs in the welding field.”
Institute and High School Form Welding Training Partnership: “Sullivan College of Technology and Design and Jefferson County Public Schools have formed a partnership that will offer welding training and education courses this summer.
Sullivan’s Welding Institute classes begin July 1, according to a news release. The classes will meet for 11 weeks from 6 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Jeffersontown High School, 9600 Old Six Mile Lane, in Louisville. The goal of the program is to prepare students and graduates to take the American Welding Society certification exam, the release said.”
Welding Gone Wrong
Keystone XL Pipeline in Trouble: “TransCanada had been busy repairing defective construction—in particular, crap welding—and had even stopped construction for a day just to get on top of it. The regulator later sent two severe warning letters to the Calgary oil company and slapped two “special conditions” on top of the 57 already required of TransCanada for the proposed Keystone XL”
Welding Causes Fire Hauling Wind Turbine Parts in Texas: “Two South Texas firefighters have been hurt while battling a cargo ship blaze sparked by welding. Corpus Christi Fire Department Capt. James Brown said Wednesday that both men apparently inhaled hot gas.”
San Francisco Bridge Delayed by Bad Welds: “Caltrans paid hundreds of millions of dollars over the original bid price for work on the Bay Bridge eastern span that was plagued by shoddy welding and completed more than a year late, state documents reviewed by The Chronicle show.
In agreeing to pay the extra money, Caltrans accepted responsibility for much of the delay, the documents show – even though bridge officials have publicly blamed bad welding done at the Shanghai factory of China’s largest maker of heavy machinery.”
