(ROSENBERG, Texas) – Around 500 high school students from 80 schools across the state could be seen on Texas State Technical College’s Fort Bend County campus as they participated in the Texas High School Welding Series competition.
The event took place over the course of Tuesday, May 6, and Wednesday, May 7. The students demonstrated a variety of different welding-based skills such as fillet, backing and pipe welds.
The event’s lead organizer, Eric Pesak, said everything was designed to be as “real-world” as possible.
“Everything we do is mirrored after what they will do in a job,” Pesak said. “When they apply for a job, they will see the same things they see here.”
TSTC was chosen as the host location for the event due to its size and quality of facilities. Previously the state competition had been hosted at TSTC’s Waco campus, but it was moved to the Fort Bend County campus due to scheduling and sponsorships.
Winners of the event walked away with a variety of welding gear such as personal protective equipment, welding hoods and, for upper-level competitors, whole TIG (tungsten inert gas) torch sets.
“We wanted to provide gear that they could put to use in a job,” Pesak said. “We hope this competition is a good experience for the kids now and in their future.”
Welding is a hot job market in the state, with onetonline.org predicting an 11% increase in demand for welders, cutters, solderers and brazers between 2022 and 2032.
Welding Technology is available at every TSTC campus. Students can choose between an associate degree and multiple certificates of completion, depending on the campus.
Registration for TSTC’s summer and fall semesters is open. For more information, go to tstc.edu.