To meet the growing demand for welders, Chattahoochee Technical College opened a welding lab on its Acworth campus in May.
“We had companies in our area asking us where they could get welding training for their employees,” said Jonathan Warner, director of economic development at Chattahoochee Tech. “We have a great diploma program on our Appalachian campus in Jasper, but that doesn’t help the industries in north Cobb, Cherokee, Paulding and Bartow counties.”
The new facility is offering custom training to businesses that want to send their employees. The school also has a new noncredit certificate program that is approved by the Workforce Investment Act and allows career-changers and displaced workers who qualify to gain marketable skills for free.
“All commercial plants need to have people on their maintenance and facilities management teams who can weld in order to maintain and repair equipment,” Warner said. “Other companies use automated and manual welding as part of their manufacturing process.”
The noncredit certificate program offers an introduction to the welding environment and industrial safety, as well as classes in metallurgy, blueprint reading, oxyfuel and plasma cutting, shield metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding and gas tungsten arc welding. The program also provides students with the MSSC (manufacturing skills standards certification) for safety.
The curriculum, a condensed version of the Technical College System of Georgia’s 18-month diploma program in welding and joining, aims to get graduates into the job market sooner.
“They should be able tell an employer that they have had welding training and could continue to learn on the job,” Warner said. “Employers are looking for multicraft technicians with a broader skill level. Welding is definitely a valuable skill.”
One industrial plant owner told Warner that he had been paying contract welders $125 to $175 an hour every few months as needed. He said it was much more cost-effective to train some of his own employees at the North Metro campus.
The noncredit certificate comprises 160 hours of training and takes about three months to complete. Tuition, books and a starter tool set cost $2,999.
Applicants need a high school diploma or a GED and are required to pass the 10th grade reading level and 9th grade math level on the TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education), which they can take for free at Chattahoochee Tech.
“Welding requires being able to understand metallurgy and gases, good hand-eye coordination, agility, manual dexterity and concentration,” Warner said. “It’s a job that pays well and is in great demand right now.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor projects a 15 percent growth in demand for welders between 2010 and 2020. In Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Gilmer, Paulding and Pickens counties, the state labor department projects a 12.3 percent growth through 2018, with wages ranging from $12 to $18 an hour.
Welders are employed by metal working industries, manufacturers, utility companies and construction firms.
Many Georgia technical colleges offer diploma and certificate programs in welding.
For information, call 770-975-4050 or go to www.chattahoocheetech.edu or www.tcsg.edu.
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