Columbiana Tech Center Training More Welders
LISBON, Ohio -- Welding instructor Huck Hughes wishes he had had the same opportunities immediately after he graduated from high school as some of his students do today.
“These kids can come out of high school and earn $30,000 to $40,000 a year,” reports Hughes, who has taught welding 10 years at the Columbiana County Career & Technical Center in Lisbon.
Moreover, his former students’ wage scale is likely to climb – and climb high, as experience warrants – over the next several years, he adds. “Many of these workers could earn wages topping $100,000 annually in this business climate,” he says. “I wish I could have started out like that.”
Hughes oversees a welding program that commands a lot of attention these days, especially as a result of increasing demand in the oil and gas industry. High school seniors and juniors are enrolled in the program, and the adult education component is also developing a large following.
Executives from pipeline companies looking to begin work in the region have visited the school and expressed interest in hiring graduates for inspection work. “They want to use our students,” Hughes reports. “There’s a need for the skilled trades.”
Juniors in Hughes’ welding class were busy Dec. 14 working on a small project, crafting small Christmas trees made of various forms of metal. Creating these projects involves all of the skills of the trade, grinding, fitting, fabricating, cutting and welding.
“I started out in my garage, and my dad showed me how to do this,” says Ethan Dilworth, a student at East Palestine High School. “I thought it was fun and a good career to get into, especially with high demand for shale.”
Energy companies have descended on eastern Ohio the last two years to stake their positions and drill for oil and gas in the Utica shale. Dilworth says he’s excited about furthering his welding education during his senior year and wants a career in the oil and gas industry when he graduates. “I’m going to learn how to weld pipe,” he says confidently.
Forty-eight students are enrolled in CCCTC’s welding/machining program, and Hughes’ junior class this semester holds 24 students at a time. As these students perform welding tasks on the shop floor, the other 24 are engaged in a new class that focuses on automated materials joining technologies. It’s a pilot program that includes robotics, welding, adhesive technology, materials science and manufacturing skills.
The Southern Regional Education Board sponsored the program with the intent of developing a rigorous curriculum that includes math, science and literacy skills, says Michelle Fitzsimmons, program instructor. “Ohio was picked for this because we have a lot of welding and joint manufacturing,” she says.
“Eventually, this will go out to the whole country,” Fitzsimmons continues. “It’s a lot of trial and error, and it’s all project-based.”
The Columbiana County Career & Technical Center spent more than $2 million over the summer to fund an expansion that included enlarging the shop to make room for new equipment.
Hughes stays on top of industry’s needs through local manufacturing associations and periodic visits to area companies. He also has his own business where he performs maintenance on oil and gas rigs, which provides him with more insight on how the energy industry operates.
“I’m out there on the rigs, so I get a better idea of what’s expected, and the rules and regulations when you come on a rig,” he says. “But our big thing is just keeping in touch with industry.”
Of the 22 seniors in the welding program, nine are already employed in some fashion in the trades, Hughes says. “Local industry has embraced them, and are working with them to build their skills and give them full-time jobs at graduation.”
CCCTC’s adult education classes are the largest ever, and the school is considering adding a midnight welding program, he adds.
As the shale industry continues its emergence, companies such as Dearing Compressor & Pump, based in Boardman, have hired former students of the welding program. “I’m sure after the first of the year they’ll be calling me,” Hughes says, “because they always take a few high school kids.”
The oil and gas industry has revived the desire among young people to seek a career in the trades. “It was dying at one time,” he says. “Today, we’re showing that the skilled trades is what built this country, and we’re getting back to that.”
Editor's Note: This story first appeared in the January edition of The Business Journal. CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.