By Amanda Sotelo, TSTC Staff
There is a new training unit in town; it is parked at Texas State Technical College and ready to hit the road.
TSTC’s Harlingen campus recently acquired a mobile welding training unit from TSTC’s Sweetwater campus.
“We are so excited to get this trailer rolling,” said Victor Blalack, TSTC Workforce Training and Continuing Education executive director. “We’re ready to move forward and bring the training to anyone who needs it.”
The mobile welding training unit is a 53-foot, air conditioned and ventilated converted box van with eight welding booths and a small classroom that are powered by a generator.
“This unit is self-contained and mobile. That’s what makes it so worthwhile,” said Blalack. “This is going to help us meet industry training needs in our region.”
Blalack said the unit will start its run at the Port of Brownsville to help train those who will be vital in the construction of the port’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
The project needs a large number of skilled welders, and TSTC Provost Cledia Hernandez said this is TSTC’s way of being responsive to industry needs.
“We focus our training services to be responsive to industry needs,” she said. “We work closely with community partners to ensure we can serve our region.”
The training this unit provides is designed and customized to meet the needs of companies in the industry.
Training can range from basic to advanced and includes areas in welding such as wire-feed welding, stick welding, overhead welding and pipe welding.
“Welding has to be learned hands-on,” said Blalack. “And this welding unit allows us to fully train the workforce needed anywhere because of its mobility, and in turn it aligns with our mission of placing more Texans into higher-paying jobs.”
The job outlook for welders is expected to grow over the next eight years, and the construction of new power generation facilities and oil and natural gas pipelines will result in new jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Welding Technology is also one of TSTC’s most sought-after programs.
“Our mobile welding unit is going to allow us to meet the demand and growth of this industry because we’ll be able to train even more people and help them become highly skilled, qualified welders,” said Blalack.
To learn more, call 956-364-4607 or visit, https://tstc.edu/workforce/mobilewelding.
