BLUE EARTH - Even with plenty of people still out of work, manufacturing firms are having a tough time finding qualified applicants to fill jobs.
That's the message local companies have made clear to Linsey Warmka, director of the Faribault County Development Corporation. So she brainstormed with Connie Hines, site manager for Fairmont WorkForce Center, which serves Faribault, Martin and Watonwan counties. The result is a welding class that begins Feb. 13. Applications must be in to WorkForce by Monday.
The goal is to give the unemployed the skills needed by local firms and get them working again, Hines said.
Students will undertake a six-hour per day, five-week course in Minnesota West Community and Technical College's mobile welding unit set up at Blue Earth Area High School. Instruction will run 3-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but the times might be adjusted by the instructors.
The course will be a little intense, but "Minnesota West has found five weeks, that many hours, is a good time frame for teaching them for entry level," Hines said.
"I'll be sitting down with each welding applicant to be sure they understand what the average day is like and to be sure they are a fit for this occupation," Hines said.
"Not everybody can take a year for training," she added. "I see a trend toward this type of training: short and customized to employers' needs."
The course will include classroom work as well as hands-on application, Hines said.
Some of the things students will learn are how to read a basic blueprint, shop safety, knowledge of the materials and kinds of welding. They will use math skills and various kinds of measuring to perform the tasks, Hines said.
The class is limited to 12 students because the mobile unit has 12 stations. If there's enough interest, another welding class might be scheduled later this year.
"If there's still a need, we could look at doing it again," Hines said.
Even though the class will be in Blue Earth, people anywhere in the three-county area WorkForce serves are welcome to apply.
Funding to help pay the $1,795 tuition is available for those who qualify, Hines said. Tuition covers the training, helmet, leathers, blueprint book and supplies.
"There are state and federal programs with set eligibility requirements," Hines said. "The full cost is paid for veterans if they qualify."
Funding is also available for permanently dislocated (laid-off) workers and those who are unemployed and lack a marketable job skill, she said.
When they get done, students can take a test. If they pass, they will be certified and stand a better chance of finding a job.
"If a person comes through the door with good skills in welding, we can always make room for that person," said Greg Zierke, president of Winnebago-based Zierke Built Manufacturing, which employs 20 welders.
With 30 years in the business under his belt, Zierke said he has hired people and trained them, but people who get training and are certified are ahead of the game.
"If you pass the test, the hourly rate [of pay] is higher," Zierke said.
"You never want to train just to train," Hines said. "Always keep the goal in mind: get the unemployed a job, help employers fill a vacancy with a good worker."