The welding industry is a growing field as it experiences a strong demand that is driven by big infrastructure projects and increasing manufacturing needs.
Retirements in an aging workforce are creating a need for younger replacements as one industry estimate says there are over 82,000 jobs to be filled annually in the field. It remains a male-dominated industry but some shifts are being seen. The percentage of women welders has risen from four percent in 2010 to about eight percent today. One report noted a 30-percentage increase in female welders since 2016.
It means breaking traditional stereotypes as efforts are made to boost accessibility in demonstrating women having the necessary skills and detail orientation in challenging outdated perceptions.
“Over the last couple years there have been more female students entering the welding program,” said Eliseo Cantu, a welding lecturer at South Texas College. “They are capable of obtaining jobs anywhere from pipefitting to welders and fabricators. The opportunities are endless, but the motivation has to come from the students themselves.”
Looking Forward To Opportunities
Jamie Noriega, at only 16 years old, has picked up a welding torch as a dual credit student in STC’s welding program.
She grew up in Mercedes, drawn to mechanics and working with her hands in making repairs around the house and on family vehicles.
“My mom tells me, ‘So what if you’re a girl? You can do anything you set your mind to,’” Noriega said in a STC news release. “Those words stay with me every time I pick up my welding torch.”
Cantu, as one of Noriega’s instructors, sees maturity and motivation to succeed in his young students. To get such a head start at such a young age in a technical and detailed field like welding is a benefit for the industry and for the students themselves.
“The instruction for both traditional students and dual enrollment students is the same,” Cantu said. “These students need to be prepared for the real world and industry experience. I try to prepare each class for that and treat them all the same.”
In the Rio Grande Valley, there are diverse welding opportunities in manufacturing with trailers and equipment, marine and shipyard work at the Port of Brownsville, and construction at Starbase with SpaceX rocket building. Essential skills needed in welding include pipe welding and structural fitting, blueprint reading, and knowledge of specific metals and hydraulics.
Be it in the Valley or elsewhere, Noriega is looking forward to where opportunities in the field can take her.
“What really excites me about welding is that it can take you anywhere,” she said. “I want to travel, see new places and work on different projects doing something I love.”
‘Proving Myself’
Noriega is entering a field where what’s called “the metal industry” is seeing movement however slight in fields like welding.
Nix Industrial, a large Midwest-based metals industry company, says on its website that “women welders, machinists and painters are breaking new ground, challenging norms, and reshaping the landscape of these professions.”
Cantu confirms the overall growth of female students in the various technical fields that the college provides training. He says all three STC campuses in McAllen, Weslaco and in Rio Grande City are seeing more female students in the technical fields. Noriega is enthused by the instruction she’s receiving at STC’s technology campus in McAllen and for the support of her instructors.
“I lost my passion for welding until I came to STC,” Noriega said. “Instructors like Mr. Noriega really changed that for me. He always tells me to show the boys how it’s done and that pushes me to work harder and prove myself.”
