Millennial's taking on the large torch of Fabrication responsibility

Let’s face some of the facts. Welders are in high demand and in cases throughout the country welding schools are filled with eager men and woman hoping to fill those needed positions in companies that are in dire need of a “good hand”. The generation of baby boomers that have laid so many good foundations of quality and workmanship are on their way out and the scepter of blue collar American pride is slowly being handed to the millennial generation. But is my generation up to the task?

A recent population projection released by the U.S. census bureau last month shows that Millennial's who are defined by the ages of 18 to 35 in 2015 are projected to number at 75 million, surpassing the projected 74.9 million Boomers aged from 51 to 69. (These projections can be found online) These numbers show us that my millennial generation has much to be learned from the Boomers who are now in the final years before retirement.

Obviously I’m talking strictly about any kind of work that has to do with Metal fabrication. So this would include work within power plants, bridges, refineries, Mills, Fabrication shops, erection operations, building structures and so many countless more. You could say in a sense that metal makes the world go round. Which brings me to this subject of choice, are millennial's up to the task? The answer without a doubt is yes. But can we acquire the critical skills needed before handed the critical jobs that Americans rely on in order to make this country run? For instance most people that imagine welding believe that it is simply taking two pieces of steel together and welding it together. 1+1=2 right? Yes in theory that is exactly what welding is, but in reality that isn't quite true when welding what’s called a “root pass” in a part that is attached to a nuclear containment wall that is protecting millions of people from a highly dangerous nuclear reactor. In this instance we've taken what seems to be simple and made it incredibly critical. This changes the whole dynamic of what needs to be learned and obtained in such a short amount of time from the Baby boomer generation.

When I was just a kid I remember certain things about my childhood that stuck with me today. You could say in a sense that it molded me and sculpted me in the man I find myself to be. One of those things was what I remember about my father. My father was very rarely around not because of a lack of his fatherly duties but because he worked so much. Most days he was out the door in the morning by 4:30am and not home until around 7:30pm. He had a strong work ethic that was birthed in the Newport News Ship yard in 1974. Back then it was a no BS kind of mentality, you were at work on time and you did the job right. If you couldn't do that then you were placed at a low spot where you could eventually learn to do it right and that’s only if you had the right attitude. If you were a punk you were just simply kicked off the job. There was no Human resource department that worked on your behalf if you weren't up to snuff.

Today is a much different world. Political correctness spans far and wide on every side of the spectrum. From politics, social equality, racial tensions, world views and even the work force. Obviously that’s only a small percent of what I’m mentioning for the sake of my word count, but you get the point. Us millennial's are in a stage of ridicule due to our differences in how we were raised. You hear the joke all the time “when I was your age I played with sticks and walked 10 miles up hill both ways in 2 feet of snow to school and back” mean while we have smart phones with games on them and anything else at our finger tips. But like every generation before us the goal is not far off and the way in which we get there is not unattainable. Different times call for different measures. What stays the same is the desire to see the American dream come to fruition.  

Something that concerns me as a welder/fabricator myself is these welding schools that make simple assembly line welders and for the most part nothing more. Now obviously not all schools are like that and for me to make that assumption would be unfair. But from what I've seen in a short amount of time is this very problem. You have multiple types of welding which leads to several differences in application that is all dependent upon what it is exactly that you are welding. For example the tolerances for defects on a simple racking system in a manufacturing plant are far different than the tolerances required in building a bridge that millions of people use in crossing per year. Employers are desperate for people that can get the job done correctly according to the code that is required for compliance, but the issue that slows their production is hiring new people out of welding schools that understand how to pull the trigger, but not what’s required to pass a routine X-ray test on the weld itself. We are seeing more and more companies offering pre-employment training to new hires after they have already went through the common year to 2 year welder training programs that assured them they were ready for their new career. This leads not only to dissatisfied employers but also unhappy students who just spent in a upwards of 36,000 for a couple of welding certifications that were achieved in a welding booth. Any seasoned Welder can attest to the fact that a welding booth is far different than an actual on site welding job.

In conclusion many questions are raised as to what the future holds as far as new technology in building, learning curves and the will to see a job well done to ever changing standards. But more than anything I challenge welding schools to further challenge their students. To not only see the boom of money they bring but the change they’ll bring in the history of what we build and are proud of. Change is inevitable and exciting. The baby boomers set a standard of work ethic and pride in quality that shows like trophies all throughout this country. Us millennial's  are in the very last years with the Boomers so dig your heels in deep, stretch your ears out wide and take all you can get. Cause once they’re gone enjoying they’re well deserved retirement. It’ll just be us working the hammers and steel building a better tomorrow for the next generation of America.