Combating the Welder Shortage
Efforts are under way to increase the number of qualified welding personnel in the United States By Monica Pfarr, executive director of the AWS Foundation, Miami, Fla. The urgent need for more welders and higher skill levels among welding personnel is widely known and accepted in the U.S. manufacturing industry. However, this need is not so widely recognized among graduating secondary school students, their parents, and others such as career counselors who influence career choices. But, facts are facts, and here are some very relevant ones: 1. Within the next decade, there will be a need to fill nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs, and a current gap in essential manufacturing skills will likely result in some 2 million of those jobs going unfilled. Major contributing factors are the retirements of Baby Boomers who acquired their job skills throughout a lifetime of practice and a diminishing pool of job candidates to replace them. Another contributor is economic expansion in the United States, which is sorely needed to keep pace with manufacturing competition from overseas. 2. Among job candidates, there is a negative perception of manufacturing trades. This is especially true of welding jobs, which have long struggled with an erroneous public perception of unpleasant and dangerous working conditions. In truth, there are tremendous opportunities within manufacturing, and present jobs in this sector are more demanding than ever of modern and developing skill sets. This creates a very favorable environment for welders and other manufacturing workers entering the trade. 3. At the same time the pool of manufacturing workers is decreasing, industry growth in the United States is outpacing available talent to support it. The welding industry alone is expected to produce at least 5000 new jobs each year in the United States. One factor is certain: If manufacturers cannot obtain skilled workers to fill jobs, they will either move those jobs elsewhere or they will find other solutions, such as increased automation, to meet their needs. In either case, operating with a talent deficit can hurt their profit margins and negatively affect the U.S. economy as a whole. This creates a positive environment for workers by improving job security and, in many cases, increasing wages. Automation, where it is applied, actually helps create a stable job market rather than reducing it. While some manufacturers have employed industrial welding robots to boost productivity, for example, these same robots are also linked with the need for higher skill levels among the workforce that programs and operates them. Greater skill required generally translates to higher wages and better working conditions for human workers. Training Challenges Getting welders and other industrial workers properly trained to meet sophisticated manufacturing needs presents some special challenges. Over the past century in the United States, students were typically taught vocational and job-ready skills, along with more traditional academic subjects. In the 1950s, a “tracking” philosophy emerged that segregated students by ability into separate “tracks” for either college or vocational occupations. Since vocational tracks were often viewed as inferior to college educations, a negative public perception of vocational education tended to shift the focus to preparing all students for college, leaving practical skills unaddressed in many cases. Nevertheless, the need for practical education persists. This education gap was addressed by the December 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act, which includes career technical education (CTE) as a track for future industrial workers. By 2018, nearly one-third of U.S. job openings will require some sort of postsecondary training, if not a four-year college degree. However, a number of challenges remain: 1. Up to 25% of states report a shortage of CTE teachers in such areas as manufacturing and science/ technology. 2. Over the past decade, federal funding cuts and declining state government support have hurt CTE classroom inclusion. 3. Closure of shop classes in public schools is a nationwide trend, reducing the number of CTE classes offered. While about half of Americans believe their school systems provide exposure to manufacturing skills, nearly 90% of manufacturing executives report they are unable to find the qualified workers they need. Another factor in the skills-shortage scenario is the general decline of apprenticeship programs in large corporations. Faced by financial market pressures, many companies eliminated functions that they didn’t view as their core competencies. In cutting back, they lost many important functions, such as apprenticeships, that do not provide short-term returns on investment. Thus, many large corporations — while willing to invest in automation and sophisticated machinery that eliminates labor — are less willing to invest in long-term training programs that will enhance the skill levels of their employees even though these same employees must maintain, troubleshoot, and repair their automated equipment. What’s Next? While the Every Student Succeeds Act offers hope for those wishing to enter the manufacturing field, and while other educational policies and reforms are in the offing, there is little certainty of success until the next federal budget has been approved. Nor is it certain the Trump administration will approve the accountability rules developed by the Obama administration. In fact, the Every Student Succeeds Act largely puts the work of ensuring needed and quality education back in state hands. A positive factor is that many states — following decades of focusing on academics and college prep — are now recognizing the benefits of CTE and other forms of balanced education. An additional step — one the welding industry could particularly benefit from — would be the development of national accreditation standards for welding and welding technology programs, as well as a core program of skills and knowledge needed to qualify as an entry-level welder. The existing AWS SENSE (Schools Excelling through National Standards Education) program is a major step in this direction. Negative Perceptions of Manufacturing While America tends to value manufacturing highly, the nation is not nearly so unified in considering it as a viable career. The quality of life associated with a solid trade/manufacturing base is often misunderstood and is not accurately valued in school and at home. Thus, those who would consider a career in manufacturing are usually already familiar with the trades. In short, Americans want manufacturing jobs, but not necessarily for themselves or their children. Typically, manufacturing is not at the forefront of public consciousness. In a recent study, just 37% of Americans said they believed the U.S. manufacturing industry had been experiencing a recent resurgence. By contrast, global executives expect the United States to be the most competitive country in manufacturing by 2020. Even where respondents felt that manufacturing jobs are interesting and rewarding, many still held negative attitudes toward manufacturing, especially in the areas of job stability and security. This was the most common reason respondents said they would not encourage the younger generation to pursue jobs in manufacturing. This idea is partially rooted in facts, as many jobs actually have moved offshore in recent decades. Despite such negative perceptions, reality shows a different picture. There are many good-paying manufacturing jobs in the United States, and opportunities abound in high-tech industries. Welding skills, in particular, are broadly transferrable across different manufacturing industries, and welding can be viewed as a highly saleable high-tech occupation. A key need is improved public relations at the high school level to encourage entry into the trades/welding. What AWS Is Doing The American Welding Society is at the forefront of the battle to increase the number of qualified welding personnel in the United States, primarily through the concerted efforts of the AWS Foundation. Scholarships are a key driver in the Foundation’s ongoing bid to help more people get the proper education for welding-related jobs. In 2016, the Foundation awarded some $890,000 in scholarships to more than 580 individual recipients. In the past 25 years, AWS Foundation scholarships have been provided to 6000 students, totaling $8 million. For more information on obtaining a welding scholarship through the Foundation, go online to aws.org/about/page/scholarships. AWS also supports targeted and named welding scholarships, and it provides matching amounts for these scholarships, dollar for dollar. For our local welding scholarship program, the minimum endowment is $30,000 ($15,000 from the donor and a matching $15,000 from AWS), resulting in a $1500 annual scholarship award (5% of endowment). The scholarship donor can set criteria for recipients, such as a specific geographic region, specific schools, and specific program of study. Recipients are selected by local AWS Sections based on the criteria set by the donor. However, scholarships aren’t all AWS is doing — not by a long shot. We have developed and maintain two websites to help people learn about careers in welding and to link individuals to prospective employers: CareersInWelding.com and JobsInWelding.com. In addition, we are active in social media, on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. AWS also provides a number of student recruiting resources, including presentation materials for student events; instructive comic books, welding career brochures, and DVDs; an Engineering Your Future guide; and a DVD devoted specifically to Women in Welding. Further workforce development activities by AWS include targeted support for welding educators, such as an annual AWS Education and Training Conference; a SENSE online Level 1 and 2 program; an online educational library; and professional development workshops through our Weld-Ed program. AWS has also worked with the Boy Scouts of America to develop a Welding Merit Badge, and has provided “Introduction to Welding” workshops for several councils within the Girl Scouts of America.
A very successful education tool managed by AWS in partnership with The Lincoln Electric Co. is the Careers in Welding trailer, which has traveled throughout North America to give visitors a hands-on feel for welding by means of virtual reality welding simulators. The trailer has become a regular feature at state fairs, expositions, and major conventions, hosting thousands of interested parties at these events.
Partnerships with other organizations are another cornerstone of AWS workforce development activities. These include a partnership with the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Institute, where AWS was a founding partner of a NAM-endorsed Skills Certification System. This system promoted adoption of industry-recognized certifications with both industry and education. We have also collaborated with NAM to produce programs on Women in Manufacturing and Recreating the Perception of Manufacturing. Other partnerships with a national network of business and industry associations have promoted the adoption of industry-recognized certifications building upon successful manufacturing models. Another key AWS partner in workforce development is Weld-Ed, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. It focuses on technicians (associate degree in welding technology) and provides professional development workshops for faculty and access to national occupational outlook data.
A new program the Foundation is launching was approved by the AWS Board of Directors in May. Up to $250,000 in grant funds is being awarded to schools in 2017 specifically for the purpose of increasing the number of welding graduates, the percentage of welding graduates, and/or increasing job placement. The application period closed on October 2 and awardees will be notified soon.
You may feel secure in the fact that AWS is wholly devoted to preparing the next generation of welding personnel for the productive and fulfilling careers that lie ahead of them.
Additional Information
For more information on the AWS scholarship programs or any of the additional welding workforce development activities, contact Monica Pfarr, AWS Foundation executive director, at mpfarr@aws.org, or by telephone at (800) 443-9353, ext. 461. 
