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Creating Skilled Workers
- The chronic shortage of welding operators isn’t as simple as training a person to weld. OEM Fabricators and Delta Air Lines have above-average requirements, so they addressed welder shortages with outside-the-box thinking.
Customer Testimonial
“In order to sustain our work force, we elect to promote manufacturing and manufacturing jobs.”
— Scott Exner, manufacturing engineer, OEM Fabricators
Application
- OEM Fabricators' approach to train welders to weld construction and agricultural equipment.
- Delta Air Line's in-house training program to produce certified aircraft welders.
Key Business Issue
- Employing enough skilled welders to meet customer demands and company growth objectives while adhering to high quality standards and/or code requirements.
Challenge
- An insufficient number of people choosing welding as a career.
- Large numbers of welders who will soon retire; the average welder is 54 years old.
- Training welders to meet the needs of specific markets and/or target customers.
Previous System & Process
- N/A—The welder shortage has been a chronic problem for years.
New Solution
- Working with technical colleges and examining manufacturing-based programs and certifications.
- Teaching at a local college to promote industry partnerships.
- Creating a full-fledged internal training program to meet specific needs.
- Encouraging individual growth as part of the training program.
- Using welding equipment and technology that simplifies training and reduces operator frustration during the learning curve.
- Sharing knowledge with others in the industry, even competitors.
Results
- Sustainable growth. OEM continues to increase the number of welders it employs, enabling the company to meet growing demand for its services.
- Better employee retention. When a new welding job is posted, “More often than not, someone inside is interested, such as an electrical systems mechanic who wants to try his hand at welding.”
—Jody Collier, SCWI and welding instructor, Delta Air Lines Technical Operations Center - Company-, industry-, process- and application-specific needs met. OEM Fabricators and Delta Air Lines need welders with very different skills. OEM mostly uses a pulsed MIG process, while Delta largely TIG welds. However, because of their “outside-the-box” training approaches, both companies are better prepared to fulfill their need for qualified welders.
