Students who plan on entering the welding programs at the Mitchell Career & Technical Education Academy next fall in Mitchell, South Dakota will train on upgraded equipment, giving them a competitive edge for gainful employment.
This past April MCTEA instructor Daniel Zard learned that his program had been awarded a USD $46,429 matching grant for upgraded equipment from the Workforce Education Grant Program, available through the S.D. Department of Education and the governor’s office.
The new equipment will replace technology dating to the early 2000s and will permit MCTEA, which is associated with Mitchell High School, to greatly expand its welding curriculum and do a better job of preparing students for industry. The new machines have multiple processes and multifunction capabilities, and they’re more in line with both post-secondary education and industry standards, Zard said.
The new technology offers preset programs for, among other materials, mild steel, stainless steel and aluminum. It’s more costly to weld aluminum, but MCTEA will receive donations from Mitchell’s AKG North American Operations and Twin City Fan. Currently, there’s no plan to teach welding of stainless steel due to its high cost, but that could change if an industry donor steps up.
“Every material has its own trick,” Zard said. Welding aluminum requires a higher level of skill.
“If you took someone who had never welded before and tried to teach them to weld aluminum, it would take twice as long,” Zard said. MCTEA offers five progressive sections of welding, with each level a prerequisite for the next. Aluminum welding will be presented in section four.
This year, 75 to 80 MCTEA students took welding courses both semesters, and that’s projected to grow to 100 students in the fall.
Photo Caption: Students in Daniel Zard’s Level 5 welding class stick weld during class at the Mitchell Career and Technical Education Academy.
Image courtesy of Matt Gade/Republic