(HARLINGEN, Texas) – A growing wave of women is stepping up to the welding bench at Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus, where 23 women are currently training for a career in a high-demand field.
With 13 new women joining 10 returning classmates this fall, the surge in enrollment highlights a shifting demographic in a traditionally male-dominated industry. The program’s growth comes at a crucial time, as regional employers across the Rio Grande Valley scramble to fill welding roles in energy, manufacturing and infrastructure.
“Kiewit is focused on developing the next generation of welders as experienced tradespeople retire,” said Jonnathan Perez Olivieri, senior craft recruiter for Kiewit Corp. “Partnerships with technical schools such as TSTC are essential in helping bridge that gap and prepare students for rewarding careers in the skilled trades.”
For Peñitas native Perla Contreras who is in her third semester pursuing an associate degree, a challenging gas tungsten arc welding process became one of the techniques she feels most confident performing after extensive hands-on practice.
“As the semester keeps going, we will learn more about the processes and how to fully develop the skills to be able to do it,” she said.
Fourth-semester student Gracie Martinez was drawn to welding because of the sparks and the process of joining metal. Her experience has become about more than learning a technical skill as she works toward a certificate of completion.
“Many women can do this job, and I wanted to do more than usual,” the Brownsville native said. “I would like to become a welding inspector or instructor.”
TSTC alumnus Joshua Anstead, a general foreman with Batchelor and Kimball, said employers benefit from looking beyond traditional backgrounds when recruiting for the trades.
“The average person who wants to apply themselves and their drive to be better is all one needs,” he said.
According to onetonline.org, welders, cutters, solderers and brazers earn a yearly median salary of $53,340 in Texas. The number of these jobs in the state was expected to increase by 7% between 2024 and 2034, according to the website.
For more information about TSTC, visit TSTC.edu.