A new welding lab at Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus represents the latest local investment in workforce development.
The college on Tuesday unveiled its Toyota Industrial Equipment Welding Laboratory, made possible by a $367,800 donation from TIEM, a Columbus-based forklift company that is the county’s fourth-largest manufacturing employer.
More than 35 people turned out for the lab’s ceremonial opening within the college’s Agriculture Industrial Technology Center, 2565 Grissom St., on the Columbus AirPark campus.
Ivy Tech’s Columbus campus used $250,000 of the donation to renovate, expand and upgrade the welding lab, which nearly tripled in size from 890 square feet to 2,450 square feet.
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Toyota also provided 19 engines worth a total of $117,800 to be distributed to Ivy Tech campuses across the state, allowing students to train and learn about engine engineering, components and repair.
The Columbus campus now has 14 new multi-faceted welding machines that will allow students to learn different aspects of the trade, Ivy Tech welding instructor Michael Kelley said.
“We will be able to put more welders through here,” Kelley said.
Demand for welders
Kelley said local industry partners such as Faurecia and Toyota in Columbus and Honda in Greensburg need welders, especially as more baby boomers retire from the workforce. The new equipment will be among six other precision welding machines that students are able to use, he said.
Toyota has experienced a 40 percent growth in business, TIEM senior vice president Tony Miller told people in attendance. Miller said the decision to support the initiative — building on a partnership with Ivy Tech that began in 2012 — was made for the future of the community.
“At Toyota, we believe that our best hope for the future is right here in our local people,” Miller said. “We have pride that our product is made in Indiana by hard-working Hoosiers and we want to further nurture the next generation of our industry — which is the people we are surrounded with.”
Demand for employees with welding skills continues to grow, he said.
Besides students, Miller said the welding lab will also allow TIEM workers to develop their skills, noting that 150 individuals out of 1,200 people employed at its Columbus facility are in welding.
“We recruit people from the community that don’t have welding skills, but have an interest in welding,” Miller said. “It’s the next natural step to provide facilities to develop people.”
The lab also provides students with the latest technology, better preparing them for the workforce, said Steven Combs, chancellor of Ivy Tech’s Columbus campus.
$1 million investment
The new welding lab is part of $1 million in renovations and new equipment, includes computers, within the Agriculture Industrial Technology Center building, Combs said.
The Toyota donation covered more than half of the lab’s $492,900 cost.
“We finally have a welding lab that is current and state of the art,” Combs said. “It mimics the environment that they’ll find in manufacturing.”
Students who complete the welding program at Ivy Tech can earn a certificate in Welding Technology in one year or a certificate in Structural Welding in eight months. They also can earn industry-recognized American Welding Society certificates in Shielded Metal Arc Welding, commonly referred to as Stick/ARC welding; Gas Metal Arc Welding, commonly referred to as MIG welding; and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, commonly referred to as TIG Welding.
TIEM serves as a strong partner to Ivy Tech Columbus as it continues to elevate its academic programs and training to align with industry standards, the chancellor said.
“Their generosity through this donation, as well as their valued voice in the community, has helped us to shape and sharpen our programs and curriculum,” Combs said.
Ivy Tech students will also have the ability to use include a virtual reality welding simulator, said David Koutz, technical sales representative with Lincoln Electric. The simulator will allow the college to save on material and time while giving students an opportunity to learn through trial and error, he said.
“It takes a lot of time and welding to get perfect,” he said.
Kelley also said he anticipates interest in welding to grow over time, pointing out that individuals can earn wages of $15 to $30 an hour. He added that welding also offers job security as demand increases for workers with those skills.
The job outlook for employment of welders, cutters, solderers and brazers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2016 to 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website. In Indiana, an individual serving in those fields earned a mean wage of $39,090 and earnings of $18.79 per hour as of May 2017, the website said.
Students are also able to gain certification in welding through the American Welding Society as a result of their experience at Ivy Tech, Kelley said.
“It’s an excellent career path,” Kelley said. “I see it ramping up, especially with the development of this lab.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”By the numbers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
$367,800: Donation from Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc. to Ivy Tech Community College
150: Number of employees in welding occupations at TIEM plant in Columbus
14: Number of multi-faceted welding machines being added in Ivy Tech welding lab
15: Number of Ivy Tech students in the Columbus program
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