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High-tech recruiting tool to help address welding worker shortage

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High-tech recruiting tool to help address welding worker shortage

MADISON (WKOW) -- America is on the verge of a welder shortage, according to the American Welder Society (AWS). They say that by 2024, we'll be short more than 400,000 welders.

Because of this, recruiting future welders is hot right now, and some students at Madison College are getting a high-tech way to experience the career field.

A growing number of students at Madison College are taking an interest in a career in welding, and a virtual reality simulator allows them to get a taste of the work minus the sparks.

"The simulator is lighter, and you also have a reference to the angle and the speed that you're going," said welding student Michelle Koch.

"I asked the teacher to show me how to weld because it looked pretty interesting and then he showed me, and I like really liked it," said Deshawn Ford, another welding student.

Employers want more students to get into this field because the need for welders is expected to grow.

Even though AWS says the country will be short 400,000 welders by 2024, Welder, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says 450,000 thousand welders will be needed by 2029. That's a swing of over 800,000 welders in five years.

But that doesn't mean interest in the profession isn't completely dying off.

"There's a large demand for it. I feel like I'm guaranteed a job," Koch said.

Instructors say good pay is also a guarantee for welders.

Students say they're ready to suit up because, with an average starting hourly pay of $21, they hope welding can help them provide them and their families with better lives.

"I've had students that have contacted me from three or four years ago that are making $30 an hour and loving it loving life," said Ben Newcomb, a Madison College metal fabrication instructor.

More job security is found in the construction boom in Wisconsin, which is one of the top five employers of welders in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Here in Madison, or anywhere else, you see a lot of buildings going up, and we need welders there," Wolf said.

Between the assured work and the pay, some students say it's a great gig.

"I have a kid. She is everything to me. It's a comfortable lifestyle for me and my kid," said Malachai Servick, a welding student.

"I chose this program because, I knew I could do the work, I need the money. I want to send my kids to college one day," said Nadine Ridley, another student.

Ford said he knows welding will be tougher than this simulator but he's ready.

"People don't want to work, the long shifts and the hard hours, but I'm honestly willing to do all of that," Ford said.

The student with the highest welder simulator score will win a $1,000 scholarship from the American Welder society to attend a trade school of their choice.

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