Government Predicts Shortage of 250,000 Welding Professionals by 2010
You Can Train for Welding Jobs at SVCC
Currently there are more than 600,000 welding professionals working in the U.S but the  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted a shortage of 250,000 by the year 2010. Part of this is due to the fact that the average age of welders in today’s workforce is 54 years and many of these people will be retiring in the next ten years.
Identified as the “industry of the future”, by the U. S. department of Energy, new technologies are creating more uses for welding in the workplace and expanding employment opportunities.
U.S. industries are reporting difficulties in locating welders, many of whom are highly skilled problem-solvers engaged in such work as energy production, highway construction, manufacturing and military applications. Both male and females welders are in demand and females are often sought for jobs requiring exceptional attention to detail.
 Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) recently revised and upgraded its welding program and now offers a Career Studies Certificate in Welding Technology. The five course program is designed to prepare individuals for a number of welding occupations and certifications using STICK, MIG and TIG applications and follows the guidelines set forth by the American Welding Society in its SENSE program. One of the courses in the curriculum allows the welding student to tailor the content to his/her own needs for preparation for certification, current job requirements and /or future employment goals. Welding programs are located in state-of-the-art facilities at the following locations:
SVCC Daniel Campus
200 Daniel Road
Keysville, VA 23947
Contact: Dorothea Sizemore at 434-736-2051
Lake Country Advanced Knowledge Center
118 E. Danville Street
South Hill, VA 23970
Contact: Debra Smiley at 434-955-2252
Periodically, SVCC offers opportunities to explore careers in welding through welding program open houses. An open house is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at the Lake Country Advanced Knowledge Center in South Hill from 5 – 7 p.m. If interested in welding as a career possibility, please check the SVCC website at www.southside.edu/programs/welding or call one of the contacts above.
(c) 2008. Southside Virginia Community College. All rights reserved.
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