My Name is Jenny and I’m a Welder

Staggering numbers: currently, the national average age of a welder is 54 and in two years, 250,000 positions will be opening.

We’ve passed along some interesting welding-related articles, but here’s a first-person account of an art teacher who becomes a welder giving detail of both the challenges and attractions to this vital trade.

Check out “My Name is Jenny, and I’m a Welder” from the Manitowoc Herald Times.

…and here’s an update….right now, an estimated 8,900 industrial projects in North America are looking for welders. Read “Welders: Manufacturing’s hottest commodity.”

Tweeted by Vicki Bell @fabcomlady

Motivated Workers Wanted

The leader of the state’s manufacturing association recently told a gathering in La Crosse that the secondary education system does not steer students toward manufacturing careers.

“We need to be more vocal. We’re more of a behind the scenes industry,” says LaMoine Dohms, plant manager at Wissota Tool in Chippewa Falls. This means reaching out to parents, and middle and high school students to get them to consider going to technical colleges to learn manufacturing skills.

In Northwest Wisconsin, Chippewa Valley Technical College is trying to turn that perception around through the Gold Collar Career program to attract a new generation of trained workers to manufacturing.

Read more about it in “Workers in Demand for Manufacturing Jobs” from The Chippewa Herald.

WMEP Announces Election of New Board Members, Board Leadership

Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) today announced the election of two new members to its board of directors, and the election of current members to board leadership positions.

"The WMEP is happy to welcome Joseph Weitzer, PhD, Waukesha County Technical College, and Ross Winklbauer, United Steelworkers, to our board of directors. They bring perspectives and experiences that will help the WMEP in its mission to support Wisconsin's small and medium manufacturers and elevate Wisconsin's manufacturing environment to be the best in the world," said Buckley Brinkman, CEO of the WMEP. 

Read the full article here