Skills competition tests students' welding mastery, prepares them for careers

Feb. 8—During Wednesday's Southwest District Leadership and Skills Conference welding competition, golden sparks flew from welding torches and grinders. But there was also lots of measuring — intense, precise measuring.

Organizers said testing skills like welding and measuring were helping prepare students for jobs that are needed now more than ever.

The contest at Crowder College's Advanced Training and Technology Center in Joplin was the first day of the SkillsUSA fabrication team competition. Individual students will compete Thursday for district placements.

The Southwest District incorporates schools as far north as Nevada, as far south as Neosho and as far east as Reeds Spring. Represented at the welding competition were five secondary schools and one postsecondary school, with 34 students competing individually.

Kent Pruitt, welding instructor at the ATTC, said students were selected to compete by their instructors. They look not only for technical skills but also the ability to work in a team, read prints, delegate tasks and understand the greater scope of what they're building.

Teamwork is valuable because there's an element of surprise in the competition. Students don't know what they're building until they arrive. At the start, they're given a print of something to fabricate.

Pruitt said the goal is to create a final product that salable, free of burrs, dimensionally accurate, level and square. This project's process is similar to the challenges students will face in the real world.

"We can't have this thing looking like something your grandma would like but your customer down the street wouldn't buy it," Pruitt said. "It has to be something that looks appropriate."

Competition project

Wednesday's project was a smoker consisting of a 16-inch piece of pipe. Students had to cut end caps and weld them on, create a 150-degree opening, weld a hinge and legs and put a grate inside. This was a deep project to test a variety of skills that would take six to seven hours to complete as a team.

"It's a matter of they have to take that print, pull it apart and start deciding how they're going to build it," Pruitt said. "They decide what welding processes, what they're going to be using on this to complete this project to a professional level."

Beyond testing their technical skills, this competition helps prepare students for a career in other ways, Pruitt said. The judges are managers and employers from the industry, and they know how to talk to students about future opportunities.

"It's not only a welding interview, but it's how the students conduct themselves with the judges," Pruitt said. "You have to be able to communicate efficiently and effectively with your supervisor."

Brandon Jackson, a junior at Franklin Technology Center in Joplin, was one of three students from his class selected to be part of the fabrication team. Wednesday morning, he was focused on measuring and attaching the end pieces to the smoker.

He said the real challenge for him was reading the prints and translating the measurements into a 3D product. Teamwork was a definite key for his team's success.

"You've got to have teamwork and trust," Jackson said. "You have to trust the other person that they know what they're doing and get along."

Jackson has a goal of doing pipeline work after graduation. He's looking forward to the travel and the money and doesn't mind if the work is a little dangerous, he said with a smile.

"I like the money, for one, for my future," Jackson said. "It's just fun too. You put your hood down and go into your own world. You're a different person."

Need for trade jobs

There's a big need for trade jobs like welders, Pruitt said. He cited President Joe Biden's recent State of the Union address, highlighting the demand for blue-collar workers.

"As the United States sits currently, we're in a jam," Pruitt said. "We don't have enough people to replace the individuals that keep our lights and our power and our water and transportation running. There's more of them retiring than we have young folks getting into the trade. That's what puts us in a jam."

Pruitt said there's been such an emphasis on going to college and getting a job, and the trades have often been looked down upon.

"Sometimes we get a bad rap because at the end of the day our clothes are dirty, and we're dirty," Pruitt said. "A lot of people don't understand that it's noisy and dirty, but you have a pocketful of cash. With eggs being expensive, it's nice to be able to afford that."

Trade schools prepare young men and women for a career where they can make extremely good money, Pruitt said. Most of the students they graduate, if they're willing to travel, can make $25 per hour or more. There's good opportunities in Joplin as well, he said.

Prizes for the competition included welding goggles, gloves and other personal protective equipment. There were medals for first, second and third place. First- and second-district placements will go on to state competition later this spring at Linn, Missouri.