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Quality welders are in short supply. The American Welding Society predicts that by 2010 demand for skilled welders may exceed the supply by about 200,000. Welders numbers dropped to 576,000 in 2005, a 10-percent decline since 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is an overall shortage of skilled trades people affecting industries worldwide as production of industrial machinery grows at record levels; securing parts to build industrial goods has become a challenge. Trained welders starting salaries are in excess of $50,000 annually and often include sign-on bonuses and relocation funds. Yet still, young skilled laborers often pursue less physically demanding work, which is both cleaner and safer; with a global boom in industrial manufacturing, skilled welders are in greater demand than ever.

From small manufacturers to Fortune 100 companies, the effort to recruit and train welders quickly has become a monumental task. Since welding cannot be easily automated, critical experience and careful judgment is required where robotic solutions are simply not a viable option.

The average age of welders continues to ascend past middle fifties; as these experienced welders contemplate retirement, welding schools and plant floor training programs cannot create replacements fast enough to meet the demand. The result is a much higher wage for welders, an average increase of 17 percent since 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Small manufacturers suffer most from the welder shortage as trained skilled workers swaps jobs to higher paying competition down the road. To this end, ResourceMFG and Welder Testing, Inc. (WTI) formed a partnership to help manufacturing companies get the skilled employees, including welders. The partnership was developed to offer job-specific training to welders that enable the welder to upgrade their skills and qualify for open positions with manufacturers in the Houston area. Client specific training programs are also made available as an option for companies who need welders trained in their processes and specific welding procedures.

"This partnership combines ResourceMFG's expertise in recruiting and WTI's expertise in qualifying and training welders. This will offer manufacturers another option when it comes to hiring qualified welders," notes Drew Rathburn of ResourceMFG. Manufacturers provide a qualified weld procedure and candidates apply, interview and weld test for multiple opportunities, all in one stop. Clients do not spend their time and resources on continually testing applicants at their facility. This option has received a great response from small and mid-sized companies who are too busy to commit the time, space and resources necessary for in-house recruiting.