30-01-2025
Siouxland high schoolers learn about welding
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (KCAU) — On Wednesday, students from around Siouxland gathered in South Sioux City to get a glimpse of what it's like to earn a living under a welding hood.
'Western Welding Academy, we're traveling around the country to 30-plus high schools in 60 days teaching the kids the importance of the blue collar trades' said Quacy Wilson with the Blue Collar Tour.
Several high schoolers were given a hands-on demonstration by certified welders.
'It's super important to let these kids know that college is not the only option out there, that the trades are super important and they're the backbone of our country,' Wilson said. 'It's our job at Western Welding Academy to build a better generation.'
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Wilson also said that welding is for any student who thinks college may not be the right fit for them and wants to consider the trade industry as a career.
'We're short 400,000 welders as it is,' he said. 'Even if the top welding schools in the country gradate with a thousand kids a year. we would never fill the supply we need. They're very important. We are sponsored by Build Submarines ,which is a department of the Navy. They're trying to build two submarines a year, and they don't have the workers to do it.'
One student from South Sioux City said he is planning on going into the trade business when he is out of high school, as he was inspired by his mother.
'She started welding and I mean, she's the only person I look up to,' student Cesar Luvya Marquez said. 'It's what I'm going to start doing.'
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