Welding, if you'll pardon the pun, is a hot field. Especially in Sapulpa, where one company wants to find 130 welders. It is good news for Sapulpa and good news for Thermal Engineering Incorporated, which is having the hiring boom. The News On 6’s Steve Berg reports the only problem now is can they find the welders?
It might be a good problem to have, but Thermal Engineering says they have trouble finding enough people to fill the jobs available.
"It's very difficult to say the least, we've spent a tremendous amount of money on advertising," said Bill Escue, plant manager with Thermal Engineering.
And plant manager Bill Escue says everyone is in the same boat.
"Every entity in town that's training welders is having trouble filling their seats, and I've heard that repeatedly," Escue said.
The reason is huge industrial growth in markets overseas like China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. But also because this is hard work, but Escue points out it is lucrative work.
"It's a wide-open field right now,” he said. “There's so much demand that if someone is motivated, they can go a long way in this field."
"It's not just oil and gas anymore, but we have construction as well as transportation," Al Shasteen with Tulsa Technology Center said.
Al Shasteen, with Tulsa Technology Center, which teaches welding, says they will actually tailor their schooling to fit a company's type of welding. And companies are sending employees to school during the workday.
"That's how big of a need there is. They're actually stopping production and sending them to train," said Shasteen.
Escue says they're setting up their own schooling or apprenticeship program right in their shop, and training people free of charge. Even then he says it's not easy for companies to form a bond with their welders.
"People are moving from company to company,” Escue said. “There's just a shortfall. We need more welders in this area. It's as simple as that."
Thermal Engineering says it will start welders at $15 to $25 an hour. Meanwhile, in some cases in the welding industry a highly experienced contract welder, someone who subcontracts with a company or construction firm, can make a six-figure salary.
For more information on Thermal Engineering, click here.
Watch the video: Welders Wanted