• Lorain County Community College

Elyria, OH

• Increases the number of welding technicians to meet ongoing workforce needs through recruitment efforts.
• Improves the education of associate degree students in welding technology through curriculum model development and enhancement.
• Designs and delivers professional development for welding educators.
• Conducts research on education and employment trends in welding.

Weld-Ed Revamps Programs

In 3 years Weld-Ed’s 10 partner institutions have graduated more than 1,700 students. Weld-Ed has helped 9 of the institutions revise their welding technician programs; it assisted the tenth in creating a new associate degree program.
To reach as many students as efficiently possible, Weld-Ed created faculty professional development workshops, designed an Introduction to Materials Joining course, and convened the annual National Welding Educators Conference at FABTECH, a prominent industry trade show.

Nearly 400 welding instructors have participated in 1 or more of these professional development opportunities through 2010. Ninety-six percent of the 157 workshop participants rated the effectiveness of the training as at least a 4 out of 5. Of the 78 instructors who took the Materials Joining course, 95% reported that it increased their capacity to help students. Sixty-nine percent had implemented the new Materials-Joining curriculum they learned within a year of finishing the course. For the conference, 100% of the 200 attendees responded to a survey; all of them indicated that they had learned useful tips and techniques for delivering welding education. By running in tandem with FABTECH, the National Welding Educators Conference has had significant participation from both welding educators and industry professionals.

Weld-Ed Report Lays Groundwork For Educators & Industry to Address Critical Workforce Needs

In 2008, Weld-Ed brought together 33 welding industry leaders. They represented business, education, professional organizations, and government. After some discussion these leaders commissioned Weld-Ed to prepare a national report on the workforce challenges facing the industry.

The State of the Welding Industry Report contains the most comprehensive data that have ever been gathered at one time on the U.S. welding industry, including its history, its needs, and its future. The report contains labor-market data from traditional sources and from the industry itself. In addition to data from 2002 and 2010, the report uses economic modeling to project where the industry will be in 2019.

The report quantifies the urgent need for at least 30,000 additional welding professionals per year to address the need for 238,000 new and replacement workers through the year 2019. The report also proposes ways to change the image of welding. The executive summary of the report is available at www.weld-ed.org. The full report can be ordered by calling (866) 529-WELD or e-mailing weld-ed@lorainccc.edu.

To address the critical needs of the welding industry and its pipeline of future workers, the report calls for the welding industry, American Welding Society, higher education, adult and K-12 education, the publicly funded workforce system, the government, economic development groups, and others to enter into dialogues at the national, state, and local levels. In addition to engaging all these stakeholders, Weld-Ed leads efforts to change the perception of welding and attract more people to the important work welders do.