The Caldwell Group Inc. has launched a welding education outreach program to create a pipeline of welders by reaching local students.
Caldwell is already partnering with five high schools and two community colleges — and the project looks set to generate a full staff of dedicated, well-trained welders.
The U.S. continues to struggle with a skilled labor shortage, in part because both industry and education have historically done a limited job of engaging young people in trades like welding and industrial engineering. Too often, these careers are under-promoted, leaving students unaware of the opportunities, earning potential, and professional respect available in the skilled trades.
Doug Stitt, president and CEO at Caldwell, said: “There is a huge shortfall in the number of new welders the U.S. is producing versus demand. It is an alarming trend largely driven by experienced welders approaching or passing retirement at a time when manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, and construction businesses need this specialized skill more than ever before.
“We have set a clear goal to help fuel our pipeline of welders by reaching students who already have an interest in and talent for welding. We want to expose them to the great opportunities welding and Caldwell can offer and help them see what a strong career path manufacturing can be.”
The program is being led by Amy Garris, education outreach and executive assistant, at Caldwell. Having spent the last 24 years as an educator, Garris has a clear understanding of what students respond to, as well as the challenges, pressures, and limited resources many teachers face. Schools frequently operate on small budgets yet continue to change the lives of students.
Garris said, “Prior to joining Caldwell, I saw this from the other side of the fence in the education setting. Finding ways to support schools is very important to me. Educators in this area are known for accomplishing a great deal with minimal resources and understanding that reality helps Caldwell identify meaningful ways we can provide support.”
We make cool stuff
Caldwell’s ‘We make cool stuff’ tagline is a good example of how the business is trying to champion its work and demonstrate what welding can help to achieve in the wider world. It frequently attends careers fairs, where its virtual welder training tool is especially popular among students. The concept allows people to practice welding in a safe, virtual environment before working on real materials. Using a simulated welding gun, helmet, and screen, trainees learn proper technique, positioning, travel speed, and angles without sparks, heat, or wasted material.
The company’s U.S. Youth Apprenticeship Program, meanwhile, is a structured work-based learning initiative that combines paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction for high school or early post-secondary students (aged 16 to 18). It is designed to give young people real-world experience while they earn academic credit and industry-recognized credentials.
Garris added: “We like to spin the fact that if you weld with us, you aren’t welding the same exact thing every single day. That’s important. Lifting is one of the most exciting, diverse industries in which to be a welder. Aerospace, automotive, and energy, for example, sound fun, and they are inescapably home to some of the most talented welders and engineers in the world, but a below-the-hook equipment manufacturer can offer a welder significantly more variety and exposure than a company producing just one or two standard products.”
All Caldwell welders are AWS D1.1 certified — the standard published by American Welding Society (AWS) that covers welding of structural steel: design, fabrication, inspection, qualification, and repair of steel structures made from carbon and low-alloy constructional steels.
