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NORTH PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College’s Maritime Welding Training Center, a partnership with Vigor Industrial, sits within earshot of the Swan Island shipyards. As a result of its location and recent collaboration, the facility is providing a steady stream of trained and qualified workers to companies like Vigor.

Welding faculty have created two new Career Pathway Certificates that tie into the skills that businesses want. The three-class, 12-credit certificates – maritime welding and maritime shipfitting – allow students to move into the workforce early if needed and emphasize desired maritime applications like butt and socket welds, fabricating spools, straight run offsets, and more.

“We made sure we captured all of the attributes of what the students will need to be successful out on the job,” said Matt Scott, welding instructor. “Both certificates complete the welder certification training. The students can then basically walk from the shop here across the street and become gainfully employed after they pass their weld test.”

Scott said more pathways are on the way, including certificates in pipe welding and pipefitting. The goal for all of the certifications is to have students move through the training quickly and find employment with great wages.

The Maritime Welding Training Center is a 4,000-square-foot facility that was built to provide Vigor, which is the region’s leading company centered on shipbuilding, ship repair, ship conversion and complex industrial fabrication, plenty of qualified ship welders. In 2008, Vigor and PCC joined forces to open the Swan Island Training Center to help meet this demand. Skilled welders are a key labor component for manufacturing companies and, locally, there is a shortage.

“Students have the opportunity to go from being green to being able to weld test in a very short amount of time,” said Maritime Welding Technician Louis Delegato. “Being immersed in the environment and processes and seeing all of the work happening around them, it really acclimates the students to the whole industry pretty quickly.”

Faculty Todd Barnett said the shop has 42 booths but is operating at one-third capacity due to pandemic restrictions. However, these rules will soon be relaxed and the program will ramp up and accept more students to be near capacity.

“There is a huge demand for trained workers. There is an overabundant need," added Barnett, who works with second-chance individuals.

To complement the tailored training and reach new populations that have been typically underrepresented in welding, the Maritime Welding Pathway is diversifying its student cohorts – 27% identify as female or non-binary while the latest welding cohort is composed of 50% women. For example, Alex Cuevas and Keyonna Williams are working on earning their flux-cored arc welding career pathway certificates. Cuevas wants to train quickly and transition into the workforce while Williams is searching for an apprenticeship, possibly with a union.

Years ago, Williams’ grandfather opened a welding school in Toledo, Oregon where she got hooked on the trade.

“I love it,” she said. “Honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my career path before this but as soon as I started welding, I knew right away I wanted to do it.”

Cuevas said the PCC program is a great way to get into the welding profession and explore the myriad of jobs associated with it.

“I’ve always been curious about the trades but I had no clue about how to get into them,” Cuevas said. “It seemed like a really good opportunity and is a great field to get into, especially right now. I think Portland needs a lot of revitalization so I decided to jump in. 

“I think it’s extremely important for women because I think a lot of us don’t know how to jump into the field,” she continued. “Having this program makes it super accessible and it’s user-friendly. You have people working with you at every step of the way to help you in the process. I love this program and am glad it’s here.”

For more details on the program’s certificates, visit https://www.pcc.edu/maritime-welding/, or apply to PCC to register for classes at https://www.pcc.edu/enroll/

And for more details on what was built with past PCC bonds, visit www.pcc.edu/bond/

About Portland Community College: Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 50,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/