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April 15, 2020April is National Welding Month
April is national Welding Month, a time to recognize and reflect on the impact welding has on the daily life of everyone who works, drives or performs routine tasks made possible through welding.
Every day in thousands of manufacturing operations like Package One in Schenectady, shipyards, automotive assembly plants and construction sites, skilled welding professionals are working to build the structures and products on which the American economy depends.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of those welders got their start right in Capital Region BOCES’ high school and adult education programs. Among them is 2016 Capital Region BOCES Welding and Metal Fabrication Program graduate Ian Mayo who is reaching new heights thanks to his time at Capital Region BOCES.
Mayo visited BOCES in 2018 to talk about his career with Local 7 UA Plumbers and Steamfitters.
“A job opened up in Middletown and they (the union leadership) were impressed again with my welding, so they sent me there as a full-time journeyman with a full rate of $40.50 an hour plus time-and-a-half and double-time,” said Mayo, who noted that he is often working six, 10-hour or 12-hour shifts and earning overtime pay for workdays exceeding eight hours.
Another such graduate is Gage Kibbey who visited Capital Region BOCES a couple of years ago to share his experience as a 2014 graduate of the program.
“Attending Capital Region BOCES has given me an edge … because of what I learned there and the certifications I was able to earn,” said Kibbey, who at last check was working at Sunset Welders, Inc., a Greene County operation that secures many government and prevailing-wage jobs.
2019 graduate welding Jared Stokes walked right off the graduation stages and into full-time employment at Package One Industries in Schenectady, where they help the manufacturer produce parts and supplies for everyone from General Electric to medical marijuana producers.
Strokes, a welder, was hired even before graduating the Capital Region BOCES program and was working part-time there much of his senior year.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with him,” said Package One’s Tony Leone. “He’s going to be an all-star. The ceiling is high on him. He’s doing a great job.”
Strokes was effusive with his praise of his job and BOCES.
“They have a good work environment. The work is not complicated. I like the hours. It’s all really good,’ he said, adding “I was well prepared for this job by BOCES.”
Through the Capital Region BOCES Welding and Metal Fabrication high school and adult education programs, students are prepared to enter the workforce or go on for more advanced training at specialized technical schools or college. Students learn skills ranging from plasma arc cutting to shielded metal arc welding and earn a host of industry certifications.
For students who complete the program, the payoff can be rich! Demand for skilled workers is high in the industry, according to the American Welding Society, which is projecting a shortage of more than 400,000 skilled welding professionals by 2024.
2019 Adult Education welding graduate Sandra Trewhella said she enjoyed the program and felt she is learning the skills necessary to succeed.
“I am looking for a new career. I am currently a spring printer, but I want to do something different. I have never welded before, but I like the craftsmanship of welding and making something,” she said in the final weeks of her class. “I feel we are learning the full gambit of what it takes to make it in this career.”
Current high school students – all of whom are now learning at home as a result of the COVID 19 forced closures of schools – agree.
“I chose welding because I want to get into a career track where I can go right into a career after I graduate high school and welding is a good career track,” said Tom Hildreth, a junior from Niskayuna.
“My father came here for welding when he was in school and I just tried it with him one day and I fell in love with it,” said Sydni Anderson, a senior from Berne-Knox-Westerlo.
Fellow BKW senior Brittany Celebucki said she knows first-hand the value of learning a trade like welding.
“My sister is in college and it costs so much. …The welding program (at Capital Region BOCES) allows you to learn the skills you need for a good career without going to college and taking on all of that debt,” she said.
Other high school students in the program said they enjoy the freedom, hands-on work and creativity welding affords.
“I get to come here every day and melt metal and pound metal – what is there not to like about it?” said Jacob Oathout, welding student from Scotia-Glenville.
“I like that I can be creative and learn skills that will lead to a career,” added Kyle Bond, who attends the program from Duanesburg.
While learning at home with a subject like welding can be difficult to say the least, students are still advancing their education and professional appeal during the school closures.
While teacher Chris Panny cannot require the students to weld from home, he is encouraging those who have the means to do welding at home to share their work.
The approximately 60 students in the welding program are currently learning Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) through Google classroom and Lincoln U/LINC virtual learning.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we can do given the national situation,” Panny said.
For more information on the welding programs at Capital Region BOCES, go to: (high school) https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/courses-programs/welding-metal-fabrication/ or (adult) https://www.capitalregionboces.org/adult-education/classes-programs/welding-and-metal-fabrication/
