There's a growing shortage of welders across the country, causing some companies to stand up and take action, Miller Electric Mfg. Co., Appleton, Wis., is doing its part to promote welding awareness and educate younger generations about the industry.

Welding advocacy
Last fall, Miller Electric co-sponsored a symposium with Airgas Inc., Radnor, Pa.; Miron Construction Co. Inc., Neenah, Wis.; and Azco Inc.; Menasha, Wis., to inform high school students and educators about careers in welding. More than 100 Wisconsin high school students, counselors and administrators attended the Career Horizon Welding symposium to learn about the salary potential and variety of careers that are available with an education in welding. The event featured presentations by current welding students, graduates of welding programs, industry experts and high school administrators.

"I think welding has a bad reputation today," says Paul Cleveland, manager of distributor training and mobile sales support at Miller Electric, "People think of it as a dirty, sweaty, hard job, and I don't think they're as aware as they need to be in terms of the different career paths in welding."

Cleveland says there were almost 3,000 unfilled welding jobs in Wisconsin alone at the time of the symposium. Attendees learned 360 openings are created each year, with an average salary of $19 an hour and potential salaries of more than $100 an hour.

"There's an anticipated nationwide shortage of 200,000 welders predicated by 2010," says Cleveland. "So the opportunity here is considerable, both for a fulfilling career, as well as a pretty well-paying job. The image of welding being dirty and labor-intensive may have been true at one time, but certainly in the last 10 years or so, it hasn't been that way. If you walk through a modern melt shop today, most of them are pretty clean. It's not the environment a lot of people envision it to be, especially with the technology being far more advanced than it was in the past."

Encouraging interest
As a welding equipment manufacturer, Miller Electric feels the impact of the welder shortage plaguing the country. Events like the symposium allow the company to help dispel common myths about the industry and encourage educators to look beyond traditional college educations in terms of options for their students.

"We inform students and educators about the career pathways that are available," says Cleveland. "They learn what a career in welding has to offer. They learn the type of equipment and technology that's involved and get to see the different weld processes they would work with."

Cleveland says one of Miller Electric's goals is to talk with high school counselors and explain what a career in welding entails. "They should know what their students like and be able to offer them a full range of options, including careers in the skills trades," he says. "We show them what welding is all about, what the students can expect in terms of salary, the type of environment they can expect to see and the type of equipment they can expect to work with."

Further action
Although this was the first time Miller Electric co-sponsored such an event, the company is involved with other initiatives to raise welding awareness. It partners with numerous community and technical colleges to supply them with equipment for their training laboratories. The company also offers an educational discount to help schools purchase equipment for welding courses.

"We actively work with educational institutions around the country because we have representatives in almost every state," says Cleveland. "We hold special events that promote education, such as weld camp, where we bring in students from the local area and show them the equipment and the processes, and talk about the opportunities available in welding. We also offer summer internships for college students seeking engineering degrees.

"We're interested in raising awareness about welding and training welders because we have such a shortage of them," he says. "We know there are many kids out there who don't hear about people like us and careers like this, so we just want to let them know this is out there and might be a good option." FFJ