Will There Be a Welding Shortage in the Coming Years?
Welders play a crucial role in the construction and repair of buildings, bridges, roads, cars, and airplanes. Without them, you wouldn’t have reliable transportation to help you travel and you wouldn’t have many places to travel to. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like if there were no welders, but many industry experts predict a looming shortage of these skills tradespeople.
Why Are There Fewer Welders?
The average age of a welder is 55 years old and more than 80 percent are older than 35. That means a lot of welders are nearing retirement age and there just aren’t many people with the skills to replace them. Without enough skilled workers to take over their jobs, the gap between demand and qualified employees will continue to widen.
Where are Welders Needed?
In case you haven’t heard, the U.S. infrastructure is falling apart. Bridges, highways, and railways get older and older every day. Once the government irons out a deal to pay for it all, welders will be needed to help rebuild and repair. Replacing aging infrastructure is a government priority and a wide-scale investment could lead to the creation of millions of jobs for people in engineering and construction, including welders.
More than 60 percent of welders find work in manufacturing. As manufacturing grows, so will the need for welders. Some states, like Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Arizona, South Dakota, Oregon, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida, have seen manufacturing growth that’s twice as high as the national rate. Once a welder has the right skills, they can take them anywhere they want.
Women in Welding
What happens when half the population isn’t interested in a particular career path? There are less people to do the job. But even though women in the welding profession only make up about five percent of welders, there’s ample opportunity for women to learn and earn in the profession.
How to Become a Welder
If you think that welding is an important job and you have an interest in the trades, you might be a good candidate for a career as a welder. In welding school, you’ll learn the skills of the trade and all about safety and professionalism. And when you complete your program, you’ll be ready to join the workforce and maybe even help rebuild the American infrastructure!
If you’re ready to start a career in welding, contact Charter College today. We offer a Certificate in Welding in Vancouver and Anchorage that can prepare you for a new career in as few as 10 months. Call us at 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.