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Winter 2006-07 World of Welding
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WALL STREET JOURNAL SPEAKS TO DEMAND FOR WELDERS
THE ARTICLE
August 15, 2006, edition of the
Wall Street Journal
called attention to a demand for welders in the article, “Where
Have All the Welders Gone, As Manufacturing and Repair Boom?” by
Ilan Brat.
The article states, “The Hobart Institute of Welding Technology,
in Troy, Ohio, has been inundated, on its web site and in person, with
recruiters.”
Ilan Brat included interviews from many companies that employ welders and the headlines include:
The American Welding Society predicts that by 2010, demand for skilled welders may outstrip supply by about 200,000.
This is definitely a great time to become a welder and be assured of a
job for many years to come! A complete copy of the article may be
found at http://webreprints.djreprints.com/1531490511822.html
THE RESPONSE
In response to this article, Therese Martin of Boylston, Massachusetts writes:
I felt the
Wall Street Journal
article was long overdue. I am a graduate of a vocational high
school from New Jersey. I was asked by Mr. Neil Mansfield, my
son’s teacher, mentor and one that I feel has had the biggest
impact on my son, Phillip, to write something on the need for highly
trained welders and fabricators in our country.
Phillip graduated in spring, 2006, from Assabet Valley Regional High
School in Marlboro, Massachusetts. I am very proud of him and the
accomplishments he has made in his four years there. My son
earned numerous awards from his graduating school.
According to Neil Mansfield, “Phillip Martin, a recent graduate
from Asasabet 's Metal Fabrication /Welding program in 2006 was the
most Outstanding Welding Student. He received an the AWS Achievement
Award Plaque and a one-year membership to AWS from Mr. Tom Ferri,
Boston's AWS Board Member, for achieving a GPA of 4.0 and a shop grade
(A+) for all four years, as well as an outstanding recommendation to
AWS from all three of his shop teachers. Highly skilled in
welding and fabricating, he carries several welding certifications in
plate, pipe and in other metal alloys.”
Phillip is currently employed as a Welder/ Fabricator at Wright -Line
in Worcester, Massachusetts. I personally believe that if it
wasn’t for the collaboration of Assabet and our town, he may not
have found his way into a creative and enjoyable lifework.
With that said, I would like to address the state of our country and
society when it comes to its skilled labor force. It is my belief that
without manufacturing and the skilled labor needed to support it, life
would be quite different.
The history of manufacturing traces back as far as our nation’s
history itself, being an indispensable part of its people’s
growth, both economic and intellectual, with manufactured goods a base
for trade. Fabricating the tools we needed to survive and
creating a modern civilization, manufacturing has become the essence of
our society. Manufacturing, fabrication, and the skilled labor involved
to produce the products that are required have become the foundation of
our country.
This cornerstone of our nation, in my opinion, is in danger, leaving
that part of our nation’s chain to weaken. With the advance of
technology and the educational demand to fill it, less is thought of
the skilled, blue-collar workers, causing two to four years of higher
education to be a necessity to obtain entry-level jobs. With the
cost of higher education, most students do not want to work or
can’t afford to work in the skilled labor part of the employment
ladder, leaving these positions empty or open to outside workers.
This is regretful; to me, working your way up through the ranks is one
of the best building blocks of learning in life, and a very necessary
part of our society. Another problem I see is the outsourcing of
manufacturing that is done in this country. This I believe takes
more jobs away from the nation’s working class, most in
manufacturing, threatening our economy and way of life.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m a firm believer in higher
education, especially professional development after you have started
working to keep you updated in your field of choice. But it is
not for every student, and more parents need to allow their children to
pursue the skilled labor work force, making this country’s
foundation strong again by putting the meaning of force back into the
nation’s vocabulary.
I am hopeful that we may see a change soon in our great nation’s
attitude towards the very needed and proud skilled laborers and the
jobs they do supporting this country. It is of the highest
importance.
Contact the Hobart Institute to learn more about welding training. Call 1-800-332-9448 or check the web site at http://www.welding.org.
Neil Mansfield, Metal Fabrication Lead Teacher at Assabet Valley
Regional High School, attended Hobart Institute of Welding Technology.
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