BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — The seven-week hands-on welding program has returned to Belmont College, offering young people a pathway to high-demand jobs in manufacturing and construction.
“It’s a great program,’ Workforce Coordinator Jeremy Morris said. “We have some great faculty here that help lead it. You know, it prepares folks for jobs in a number of industries for manufacturing and construction, and we have a great program for high schools and college students.”
Morris emphasized the growing need for construction workers.
“We need to have a half million more construction workers in this country on top of what we employed last year, and 1 in 5 construction workers are over the age of 55,” Morris said. “So there’s a lot of opportunity for young people to come in here and have a lifelong career from it.”
Students uncertain about their future careers are encouraged to explore the welding program. Lindsay Hess shared a success story, saying,
“There was a student that was going into the nursing program, and she was into a lot of nursing stuff,” Lindsay Hess said. “She said, ‘I want to try something different,’ and she came to welding, and she said, ‘This is pretty fun.’ She said, ‘I’m very glad she came out here to try it and everything.’ So maybe it’s something that you might choose for the first time, but it’s something that you’re like, ‘Oh, this maybe could work for me.'”
The program begins on Sept. 23 and runs through Nov. 6.