Solving the skilled worker crisis one welder at a time

Fab shops of all shapes and sizes are looking for welders. Those that are serious about addressing the dearth of welders are taking steps to find that next generation of metal fabricating workers. Ikonoklast_Fotografie/ iStock/Getty Images Plus

Never underestimate the impact one person can make in what could be considered an insurmountable battle. A small victory can inspire others, and before you know it, you have a real movement.

Everyone knows about the welder shortage. The American Welding Society estimates that the U.S. will have a shortage of 375,000 welders by 2026, a number that seems to grow the farther industry officials look into the future. Metal fabricators will tell you today that they can’t find welders—or any other workers, for that matter.

Wages have risen. New welding schools are being built all over North America. Thousands are working on improving manufacturing’s image and celebrating welding skills. Yet the problem continues.

Success stories are happening, however. They just aren’t as widely celebrated because they aren’t really publicized. That’s a shame. This is where the battle to preserve manufacturing’s future will be won.

Take, for instance, Justin Mixon, quality assurance manager for structural steel fabricator Slay Steel in Meridian, Miss., and chair of the American Welding Society’s Northeast Mississippi Section. He earned his certified welding inspector credentials in 2016 after getting some help from an instructor at Meridian Community College, and later achieved his certified welding educator certification after volunteering at the school as a mentor to students embarking on their welding careers.

Having seen what the community college’s 40-hour welding basics course offered, Mixon began to promote it to Slay Steel’s material prep team, the folks who drill holes in the beams, columns, and plate and remove sharp edges from material coming out of the shear. Those positions are meant to be entry-level jobs, and if they could make their way through the college’s basic welding course, they stood a good chance of passing Slay Steel’s welding test and getting a bump in hourly pay. (Mixon said the welding course entails practice drills involving welding in the flat and some vertical positions, which would mimic the flux-cored arc welding work being done at the fab shop.) Slay Steel, which has just over 50 employees, has six welders on staff.

“If you find someone with the right attitude and he’s a good employee, you want to keep him,” Mixon said.

So far one person from the material prep ranks has gone through the welding basics course and is now joining metal at Slay Steel. Two more are in the pipeline.

When the new welder hits the floor, he’s not left on his own. Mixon said a person he calls a “welder/trainer” is assigned to the newcomer and shadows him as he gets used to welding life outside of a training booth. The mentor can check on in-process work to avoid a collection of poorly welded parts failing inspection.

Mixon said that Slay Steel has recognized his efforts and now is willing to pick up the cost of the course for interested employees. The program provides the consumables and material for practicing the welds. All one needs is a welding helmet and the desire to learn.

Mixon has an eye on expanding the recruitment effort beyond his own company.

“There are three other fab shops in Meridian that have the same type of entry-level welding requirements that we do. We could be promoting this in all of those companies,” he said.

A bigger pool of welding candidates is good for the local manufacturing economy and the welders themselves, the latter of which stands out for Mixon. He knows that if someone is 25 years old and is grinding metal for a living, something likely went wrong along the way. He also knows that grinding is not meant to be a career. He sees welding as an opportunity to develop a skill and start off on a career path. The welding training program at Meridian Community College, run by instructors Eric Jones and Jacob Griffith, is a great springboard to greater possibilities.

“My goal with that is changing lives. That’s what I’m trying to do at the end of the day,” he said.

Such a transformation is a victory for the individual, the employer, and the local community. Imagine if more people stepped forward to be ambassadors for all of the promise that a manufacturing career could offer. It’s not going to solve every metal fabricating company’s employment challenges, but the companies and communities that put forth the effort will be in a much more competitive position.