Welding Technology Students Sweep State Skills Competition

Three students from the Welding Technology certificate program placed first in their respective divisions — structural, pipe, and sheet metal — at this year's statewide collegiate trades competition, the program's strongest showing since the competition added a collegiate division ten years ago. A fourth Porter student placed third in the open fabrication category, judged on a timed build from a blueprint provided the morning of the event.

Competitors are scored on a blind weld-quality review as well as speed, so a fast joint that would fail an X-ray inspection scores no better than a slow one. Program faculty said this year's cohort spent extra shop hours specifically drilling the AWS structural certification's inspection criteria rather than raw speed, a shift credited with the sweep.

The certificate program runs one semester of full-time shop time and places graduates directly into structural, pipe, and fabrication roles across the region — regional employers have historically recruited straight out of the spring competition.