WEC Welding and Machining: A Long-Term Solution
Written by Ashley McGown "Energy Today"
Article published online September 2009

The inherently difficult nature of recruiting and retaining workers led this organization to develop its own institute, which it uses to train new hires.

As a result of the recent economic downturn, many companies are downsizing, especially in terms of staff. However, there is a fortunate minority of businesses that have managed to expand in recent months, and to accommodate growth, these organizations have continued to hire. Sky-high unemployment rates have made the recruiting process easier as of late, but down the road, these companies will face the challenge of retaining these potentially over-qualified individuals.

Companies across the spectrum of energy-related industries have found it particularly difficult to find qualified staff during the last decade for two reasons: an aging working population and a decrease in interest in vocational careers among the younger generation. More people than ever are enrolling in college after high school, and fewer are developing trades.

Illinois-based WEC Welding and Machining, a wholly owned subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Company, is unlikely to face these types of recruiting issues in the coming years despite its involvement in the energy industry. In 2007, its team developed WEC Welding Institute, an educational program that has improved the company’s recruiting and retention processes, both of which proved challenging in prior years.

“The leading factor that led us to develop the institute was the level of difficulty we faced when trying to obtain resources. Our workers are aging, and we need to get more young people into the mix, and frankly, there just weren’t any out there,” said Jimmy Morgan, president of WEC Welding and Machining.

Ahead of the curve
The first institute location was established in Rock Hill, SC, and as a result of its success, a second location was opened in Chattanooga, Tenn. in June. Currently, 10 students are enrolled at the latter location, which has the capacity to accommodate 50, and 34 students are enrolled at the original site, which has the capacity to host 75.

Although the economic climate has temporarily decreased the number of new employees WEC Welding and Machining is looking to hire, the schools are still operating and turning out potential new hires.

“Before the downturn, we enrolled 50 or more students at the Rock Hill location, but we have scaled it down a little recently,” Morgan said. “If you look at the population and the projected growth, we will end up needing every one of the students that graduate from the institute, plus some. Stimulus money will make it to a variety of end users, which will ultimately cause a spike in the demand for welders.”

According to Morgan, there are approximately 200,000 welders in the US today, and the average age of those individuals is 52. From this statistic, it’s apparent that a large number of welders will be retiring during the next 15 years, and to ensure their spots aren’t left vacant, young welders must be recruited and molded.  

“It’s a serious issue that is going to impact the industry as a whole,” Morgan said. “However, we believe the foundation of this institute puts us ahead of the curve, and it’s something we plan to ramp up in the future.”

A selective process
The concept behind WEC Welding Institute hasn’t changed much since its inception, but Morgan and his team did learn one lesson early on, and as a result, they developed a more in-depth screening process.

“When we enrolled the first class, we didn’t do as well as we should have in terms of screening students. We’re more selective now, making sure each student understands exactly what the job of a welder entails,” Morgan said, noting that many of the first-year students didn’t fully understand how much traveling a welder must do. “Our workers do a lot of traveling, and they have to be ready to leave at any time,” he added.

Students enrolled at the institute participate in a program that lasts between 12 and 16 weeks. The discrepancy arises because individuals of various skill levels are accepted into the program, and a student’s completion depends on his personal abilities.    

“If a student is really good with his hands, has great hand-eye coordination, or has a decent amount of related experience, he might graduate in 12 weeks, but some people need up to 16 or even 20 weeks to complete the program,” Morgan said. “That’s really the maximum length, however, because we typically won’t accept anyone who doesn’t have at  least a small amount of experience in an industrial or field setting.”

WEC Welding Institute is currently operating under the umbrella of WEC Carolina Energy Solutions, a subsidiary
of WEC Welding and Machining, and thus far, the school has had a significant, positive impact on Morgan and his team’s ability to recruit and retain young, qualified staff.

Looking to the future, the team is entertaining the idea of spinning it off into a separate legal entity and using it to generate a new revenue stream, training welders for other organizations, but no plans have been solidified thus far.

“Right now, it’s really something we just set up to help us inhouse, but that could change in the future,” Morgan said. “Since 2006, we’ve tripled in volume and sales, so we’ve had to hire a lot more people, and because of that, we knew we had to become more proficient in terms of hiring.”