Kayla Johnson felt like she was at a dead-end in her career. She was a server at a restaurant, bringing people food and barely making ends meet with the paltry pay and any tips she could scrape together. Worse than the low wage was the feeling that she was young and couldn’t see a path forward toward a better future. She felt unfulfilled, like her work didn’t mean anything to her or anyone else.
Then one day her father called her and voiced the same concern she had been silently feeling inside. “He asked, ‘What are your plans?’” she says. “‘What are you going to do?’”
Her father suggested welding school. At first, Kayla laughed at the notion. But the idea took root. A few months later, she called a recruiter at Tulsa Welding School’s campus in Jacksonville, Florida. She went in for an interview and signed up that same day.
The idea took root...she called a recruiter at Tulsa Welding School’s campus in Jacksonville. She went in for an interview and signed up that same day.
Skilled Trade Schools
Are Training In-Demand Welders, Electricians, and HVAC Technicians
Kayla is just one of a record number of students across the country that are taking their dreams and talents and enrolling in trade schools. And the need for welders, electricians, and other skilled tradespeople like Kayla has never been greater. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there about 700,000 job openings in the skilled trades every year. By 2028, they project a 2.4 million-person shortage of people qualified to fill these good-paying jobs1.
“We get to see the student realizing that they are no longer funding a program, they are making an investment in themselves,” says Brendan Balof, Corporate Director of Financial Aid for StrataTech Education Group, which trains welders, HVAC technicians, and electricians through the Tulsa Welding School’s four nationwide campuses and The Refrigeration School, Inc. “Being able to see them transition from ‘This is something I was thinking about doing’ to ‘This is something I can actually do’ is just an amazing experience.”
But skilled tradespeople receive more than just good pay and steady work — they find a challenging and rewarding profession.
“You have the opportunity to be part of something huge,” says Mary Kelly, StrataTech CEO. “This is a calling. This is a mission for us. This isn’t just a job.”
Unprecedented demand for skilled trades
Conventional wisdom might lead many people to think that, as society progresses toward a future that is more and more reliant on technology, the need for skilled tradespeople would decrease. But the opposite is true. Because a world that leans on machines needs a highly trained, specialized work force to service those machines and keep that world running.
For instance, welding is applied to dozens of industries, from automotive and aerospace to small electronics and medical equipment. Whether you’re building a fence or a space shuttle, you need highly skilled welders that are adept at their craft.
Celebrating it’s 75th Anniversary, Tulsa Welding School (TWS) in Oklahoma has trained thousands of skilled trades professionals in welding, electrical, and HVAC/Refrigeration with graduates across all 50 states. But as generations of experienced skilled trades professionalsare now retiring, there is increasing space for new and enthusiastic welders. Students in Tulsa, and at StrataTech Education Group’s ’s other TWS campuses in Dallas and Houston, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida, along with The Refrigeration School (RSI) in Phoenix, learn hands-on, state-of-the-art skills in labs, in the classroom and in virtual reality (VR). And StrataTech’s ground-breaking OcuWeld program uses virtual reality to help students reinforce the skills taught in the labs and hone their welding skills outside of the classroom.
By the time they’re done, they have the tools and techniques to begin an entry-level career in a wide variety of industries.
All TWS campuses, as well as StrataTech’s Phoenix-based The Refrigeration School, Inc. (RSI), also offer training in electrical skills and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC), which are also rapidly growing sectors. As electricians retire and exit the work force, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there will be more than 73,000 new openings for electricians each year for the next decade3.
Those long-tenured electricians who remain may not be equipped to take on the latest innovations in alternative power generation. This dovetails with a mass movement in the U.S. to electrify HVAC systems, reducing reliance on fossil fuels by replacing gas-powered furnaces and air-conditioners with electric models.
Women can do it, and we’re better at it. I would just encourage any female even if you are just interested, jump in.
Kayla took the plunge into professional welding and was immediately rewarded for her investment in herself.
“That first paycheck was like ‘Woo. What do I do with all of this?’” she says. “Now, I can get a job anywhere.”
But more than just steady work and pay, Kayla found something she was good at, something that contributed to the world, and most importantly, something she loved doing.
“And why not do something you love?” she says. “If you’re doing something you love, then how can you consider it work?”
If you or someone you know is interested in switching careers and exploring the skilled trades, check out TWS or RSI locations and program across the country at their online hub, here or visit TWS.edu or RSI.edu.
Imparting skills, instilling passion
presented by StrataTech Education Group
PRESENTED BY StrataTech Education Group
This growing demand has presented a great opportunity for women. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of women working in the trades reached a record 314,000 in 2021, representing an increase by almost one-third from just five years prior4.
“Women can do it, and we’re better at it,” says Kayla. “And I would just encourage any female even if you are just interested, jump in.”
Kayla Johnson
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/tulsa-welding-school-training-skilled-laborers-in-irving/
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/tulsa-welding-school-training-skilled-laborers-in-irving/
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/electricians.htm
https://blog.dol.gov/2022/10/26/meeting-the-moment-expanding-career-pathways-for- women#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20number%20of,increased%20by%20almost%20one%2Dthird.
2