Molding the welders of tomorrow

Dave Cotner, dean of industrial, computing, and engineering technologies at Pennsylvania College of Technology, believes in the value of fostering good relationships with equipment manufacturers. It helps keep the welding lab fresh with new technology, and it also gives students exposure to the various industry brands that they’ll be working with out on the job.

Nestled along the West Branch Susquehanna River in Williamsport, Pa., is Pennsylvania College of Technology, home of a thriving welding and metal fabricating program.

Whether it’s offering a bachelor’s degree, associate degree, or welding certificate, the college is equipped to serve students of all backgrounds and with diverse end goals. Its formula for success includes hiring instructors with real-world experience who not only can help students navigate how to perform various welding and fabricating processes, but also teach them why certain things are done the way they are. The next component of that formula is establishing a good working relationship with equipment manufacturers to provide students with access to the most up-to-date and advanced equipment available. The last component is providing a wide array of educational offerings, such as machining, 3-D printing, and robotics, to expose students to as much of the manufacturing world as possible.

The WELDER spoke to Dave Cotner, dean of industrial, computing, and engineering technologies; and James Colton II, assistant professor of welding and co-department head, about the needs of local industry and what Penn College is doing to ensure its students are ready for the workforce upon graduation.

TW: Do employers need different skill sets from welders now versus 20 years ago?

Cotner: I think we are asking more from our welders today, and that is more an indicator of where manufacturing is versus where it used to be. For example, when I started working 30 years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to have an inspector at the end of the line. Everyone involved in the manufacturing process did their jobs and the part got inspected once. If it was rejected, then you had to go all the way back to the beginning.

Today welders or machinists are responsible for performing in-process inspections, so they are more responsible for what they are doing. It’s a different world than what I grew up in. But I don’t think anything has changed with the desired quality level that is expected from welders. Twenty or 30 years ago we still wanted quality welders, quality machinists, people who cared about what they did, and people wanted to put in an honest day’s work. I think the same is true today.

TW: What does Penn College do to ensure the welders that leave the program possess skills that will make them successful members of the welding workforce?

Cotner: Becoming a proficient welder, much like anything else, is a matter of repetition. For two years our students spend most of their time—20 hours per week or more—under the hood, laying bead, working on muscle memory, the whole nine yards. The next two years they spend less time under the hood because they are learning more of the theories behind certain things. They have to know why and the how, which is why we put them through all that we do. But during that time many of our students still find a way to spend as much time as they can under the hood welding.

TW: Penn College has a ton of equipment from a variety of manufacturers. How does that benefit your students?

Cotner: It gives them the opportunity to diversify what they are exposed to. We want our students to have experience working with technology from a variety of manufacturers because every piece of equipment runs a little bit differently. And it’s that kind of experience that we feel gives them a slight advantage when they leave and go to work.

Cotner said welders today are expected to do more than what they were 20 years ago. For instance, present-day welders are accountable for their own in-process quality control. What hasn’t changed, however, is the need for skilled, accountable, and talented welders.

Colton: Not only does it allow students to experience a little bit of everything, but they get the unique opportunity to work with the very latest and greatest in technology offerings. We value our partnership with equipment manufacturers; in some cases when an equipment manufacturer comes out with something new, they bring it here and swap it out for something else of theirs that we have. We certainly see the benefit that this has for our students, and I hope the manufacturers see it as a benefit as well. The students who are using their equipment now in our lab are one day going to become equipment purchasers, whether for personal or professional use.

Cotner: We have to be selective with what we place in our labs, either due to cost or curriculum. We work to provide the highest value to our students to give them a broad foundation of skills.

TW: What is unique about your program?

Cotner: It’s one thing to show somebody how to do the task—we could teach anyone to melt metal to make a good weld repetitively. But we also place a heavy focus on teaching our students why something has to be done the way it’s done. If we don’t, we’ll never be able to bring them along to the next level.

For example, I’m fairly convinced that someone could teach me how to perform heart surgery under perfect conditions. But what would I do when the conditions change? As soon as any of the variables change, I can’t do it. Why? Because I only know the how and not the why.

We believe that it’s important to impart so much other material into our courses because we want to develop well-rounded critical thinkers who can do more than just lay a bead. We’ll teach them how to weld a T-joint, we’ll teach them how to weld a T-joint with 7525, and then we’ll teach them how to do it in spray transfer mode, in short-circuit mode, and then explain why. It’s those lessons that make our students that much better in the working world.

We don’t want to be the school that does things the way they’ve always been done. We want to be the school that does what industry needs.

TW: What are the needs of the welding and manufacturing employers in your region? What are employers asking for from your students?

Cotner: Between 20 and 25 years ago this area had a heavy need for flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) and submerged arc welding (SAW). We had a railcar manufacturer in the Milton area and they were constantly gobbling up people to work those processes. Roughly 10 years ago we had companies in the area that were doing a lot of boiler work, so there was a need for TIG welders and people experienced in working with stainless steel.

Colton: A big portion of our welding population comes to us from at least a four-hour radius, and we draw from 14 different states. A lot of the students who come to us are probably going to return to their home states. While we want to meet the needs of local industry, our primary focus is on educating and training well-rounded welders who can make a living and be successful wherever they end up, whether it’s in this area or somewhere else nationwide.

Pennsylvania College of Technology, 800-367-9222, www.pct.edu

The college says it is imperative to have instructors with on-the-job industry experience who can help students understand not just how to do something, but why it’s done a certain way.