Into the AWC parking lot rolled semis and trucks, their trailers and beds filled with machines, torches, steel – and lots of determination. With them came students, teachers, supporting family and friends, and vendors – all prepared to battle the heat and the noise to magically turn steel into useful objects.
The event, Welders Without Borders “Welding Thunder” Welding Fabrication Team Invitational and Expo 2012, was a fruitful collaboration among the Arizona Western College Institute of Welding Technology, the AWC American Welding Society Student Chapter and the AWC Skills USA Student Chapter, held Oct. 19 and 20.
The theme for this year’s event was the fine metallurgic art of…the Bar-B-Que.
Industry representatives
The high schools and community colleges at this competition were represented by a dedicated group of welding teachers and their students, the future of their profession.
“Welding is a very dynamic industry,” said Grant Melton of ESAB. “Training is what makes a difference between a good or bad product.”
Lincoln Electric was showing off its high-tech training innovation, the Virtex 360. The 360 is similar to a flight simulator used to train pilots, only this training computer and software is for welders. Using virtual technology, a student can train in mig-stick welding without the need for materials, developing muscle memory to learn welding skills safely.
Dustin Talbert, the Virtex on-site trainer, said his choice of welding as a career was influenced by his grandfather’s advice to him: “You may not be the richest man alive, but you’ll be able to feed your family and have a job for the rest of your life.”
A hands-on alternative
The teachers and vendors agreed that welding offers many job opportunities now and in the future. Presently many welders are retiring, opening jobs up for high school and college students.
Francis Ambrose from Pinon School District #4 said that his students enjoy learning welding and want to come to school, and they know they are learning a career with a good future. Nick Williams of El Cajon Valley High School added that the job market is huge, with many entry-level positions in metal designing, welding, fabrication, structural engineering, architecture and building design.
Shanen Aranmor of Miller Company, which works closely with schools, noted that developing skills such as writing, reading and math and not using drugs will ensure that the welding student will find a place in the marketplace. She also identified the lack of qualified welders in the U.S. as one of the major reasons for outsourcing of work to other countries.
“Welding provides the freedom and opportunity to live the American dream,” said Aranmor.
A dynamic leader
Samuel Colton, professor of welding and coordinator of the AWC Technical Instructional Department, is the founder of this event and of Welders Without Borders, which he has led for the past 13 years as an unpaid volunteer.
Colton’s goals are “to strengthen American youth through welding education, and through learning skill, dedication and discipline in what they are doing.” He added that careers in welding offer portability and challenge and that they are “exciting and rewarding and many times offer a chance to travel.”
All of the teachers at the event expressed great appreciation for the opportunity that Colton has provided to students to develop their skills through this competition, which offers a unique alternative to an entirely academic environment.
Photo by Nicholas Canaday
