WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Texas State Technical College in Waco adds evening courses to accommodate working students seeking welding certification in response to growing industry demand
- According to the U.S. Department of Labor, welding, cutting and soldering is predicted to have a 23% increase in job openings here in Texas between 2020 and 2030.
- TSTC in Waco is offering evening classing in this trade for the first time this semester
- This course will take close to a year to receive certification
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Welding remains a high-demand trade in Texas with job opportunities projected to grow significantly over the next decade.
The U.S. Department of Labor predicts welding, cutting and soldering jobs will increase 23% in Texas between 2020 and 2030, creating substantial opportunities for skilled trade workers.
"I think the welding trade itself has just always been one that is always going to be needed," said Austin Allen, welding program team lead at Texas State Technical College (TSTC) in Waco.
Allen attributes the growing demand to new businesses establishing operations in the state, particularly along the Gulf Coast.
"A lot of what we do is going to be going down into the coast and refineries, offshore drilling rigs, pipelines, power plants that's going to take up the bulk of what we do, but there's quite a bit of manufacturing that has came into Texas in recent years that we've really been able to work with a lot of different companies around us and trying to fill that need," Allen said.
The welding profession also offers job security in an increasingly automated world.
"We're definitely one of those types of trades that is AI proof. We don't really worry too much about AI taking our jobs, but with it always being prevalent as far as in Texas and manufacturing and everything else, I've always felt like that's just always going to provide an opportunity for Texans as far as them always being able to keep that employment, have the job security," Allen said.
To meet growing industry demands, TSTC in Waco has expanded its welding program schedule to include evening courses.
"We have a morning, we have an afternoon, so the morning goes from 8 to 3 o'clock. Our afternoon goes from 1 to 7 and then we also have a shift now from 5 to 11. So in doing that what we're trying to do is create opportunities for Texans that if they didn't have that opportunity before, whether it be they were working at their normal job and they didn't have that scheduling availability, this is where we're trying to provide that at nighttime with those alternative shifts," Allen said.
Students can complete their welding certification in approximately one year. According to Allen, employers primarily seek candidates with solid foundational knowledge and strong work ethic.
"That's been one of the attributes that what has come up in our advisory meetings in the past that this is what we're really striving for because we provide them with the training that they need to get the job but what we're really trying to make sure that we do here is that we provide the training to keep the job," Allen said.
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