By Barbara Bent
In a Republican presidential debate last fall, candidate Marco Rubio said the country needs “more welders and less philosophers.”
In Virginia, the comment rings true.
Select programs, such as Workforce Solutions and Community Education (WSCE) at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (DSLCC), work to educate people in skills such as welding, which society has begun to lack.
Gary Keener, vice president of WSCE at Dabney, agrees that there are not enough young people involved in skilled trades such as welding. Keener refers to these types of courses as “career and technology education” (CTE) rather than “vocational education” because many jobs these days involve technology. Welders and industrial maintenance workers, such as pipefitters, are sought after by many companies. The state needs more people with the advanced skills to work with machinery.
“If our heat goes off, we want it fixed quick,” said Keener.
Keener said this program does well at Dabney because the faculty and staff know there is a need for advanced skills training. If a local company has a specific need, it looks to WSCE to fill it. The main facility, the WSCE Center, is located on Dabney’s primary campus in Clifton Forge. The Workforce Development program works with various companies to tailor training plans specific to the industry.
Some of the skilled trades that Dabney teaches include electrical work, instrumentation, EMT jobs, truck driving and welding. Because it is a public institution, Dabney is considerably less expensive than other schools. The age of students in these vocational programs ranges from new high school graduates to older folks looking to switch careers. DSLCC is the second smallest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia and has a CTE program that services approximately 200 students.
Welding, in particular, is a high-demand and lucrative career, which Keener promotes. The hands-on program runs between two and three semesters, depending on the level of training students are seeking. Because of the growth of welding jobs in structural steel, aluminum, paper mills, piping, and maintenance welding, the program had to expand. The school also offers dual enrollment programs for high school students to give them a head start in the industry.
Michael Bryant, Dabney’s certified welding instructor, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Roanoke College to take over his family’s sub-contract welding business. He is both a certified welding and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspector. Bryant grew up around the trade and attended a technical high school. He even commuted to business classes in his welding rig.
“I’m a fourth generation welder and blacksmith,” said Bryant.
In 1999, Bryant began his teaching career at Dabney. He works with an advisory board to keep a finger on the pulse of the welding industry. To prepare graduates for upper level positions in the industry, for example, the program added occupational English and mathematics courses.
“As you move into management, you need to communicate,” said Bryant. “I have graduates that are in supervisor positions of several companies in the Rockbridge area and students who have also gone self-employed.”
Bryant acknowledges the lack of welders on a national scale, but said that in this region, that’s not the case. There is usually a waitlist for welding courses at DSLCC.
“There’s a real difference in culture,” said Bryant. “Urban areas have greater difficulty keeping their welding departments full.”
Bryant said his graduates are employable, mainly because they cannot graduate without a welder qualification test that matches the industry’s standard. This test is not required for all welding jobs, but it ensures credibility to employers. Graduates often move to larger cities in the area, such as Roanoke, for work that pays well. Some even move across the country.
Welding is no longer an all-male occupation. Bryant said he sees about two women each year.Like the men, they are attracted to the profession for its lucrative pay.
Bryant also sees graduates from four-year colleges and universities who learn welding to pay off their student loans after failing to find jobs in their liberal arts fields.
This year, Bryant says about 25 percent of his students are veterans earning benefits from the GI bill. This legislation allows them certain benefits from educational institutions.
“It’s a very affordable education,” said Bryant. Classes cost about $160 per credit-hour, and most students complete up to 32 credit-hours to graduate.
Last year, the American Welding Society awarded three section educator awards and one regional educator award to instructors at DSLCC or those affiliated with the college. This demonstrates the quality of DSLCC’s instructors, says Bryant.