http://www.npr.org/2015/09/07/437589596/amid-a-shortage-of-welders-some-prisons-offer-training?sc=tw
I already lock my door in the shipyard. 
There is only one reason for a welder shortage at some, mostly southern, shipyards, they are paying wages that are far far too low.
Welding is hot, dirty, sometimes dangerous, hard work. No one is going to do it for the same wages they can get working in an air conditioned hotel or restaurant. No one is going to do it for less than they can make driving taxi or Uber.
50k a year and a truck ,and he turned it down .dam fool
i gave up welding coz i was losing my vision,the pay sucks unless you can get an oilfield job
I would say in addition to the removed focus on the younger generation from technical skills to the white collar route.
yea most likely so,i would also suspect this sense of"entitlement" by the younger generation plays into it also
Why weld for less than you can make driving truck?
They are lots of welders with a small welding rigs on a pickup truck who make a good living doing small jobs. The often start out doing side jobs while working fulltime in a factory.
At $20 per hour there would be no shortage of welders. For that matter, there is no shortage of welders. Just a few gippo employers who cannot find enough help at the low wages they are offering.
My last SY period before I retired was at Tampa Ship. Most if not all of the Welders were from Vietnam. This was before they closed down the access due to āHomeland Securityā. I remember thinking about how many would not be able to get the dreaded TWIC.
Reading this link brought the same thought, how many of these guys with a Serious Offence on their record would be able to pass the background check to get a TWIC?
There are three parts to disqualifying offenses related to issuance of a TWIC. There is one that is a list of āpermanently disqualifyingā offenses, another which is āinterimā and allows for qualification greater than 7yrs from conviction/5yrs from arrest, and finally if an applicant is under warrant, etc. they are disqualified.
Iāve never had a low paying welding job but then again, I just about always welded for the union. Straight out of college I went to welding in the union. Had a few little jobs here and there in between union work, but still they pain good. Never saw less than I want to sat about $28 an hr. while union was paying me from as low as $45 an hr up to the most I ever made was $68 an hrā¦ But I wonāt go back to it cause of severe flash burn fucked my eyes up and lost some vision. Went from 20/15 in both eyes to 20/20 in my right and 20/30 in my leftā¦
The main reason I went from ABS welder/shipwright to OS on a tugboat in Alaska is I could see the writing on the wallā¦the āfabrication marketā is highly competitive and āquirkyā, by that I mean you may be making $28-$35 /hr. on one project, but when its done, the most you may get will be under $20/hr. Iām proud of my time in the yards, I have a freaking degree in boatbuilding for fucksakeā¦but the volatility and uncertainty, plus the hell it played on my vision, led me to choose an MMC over the shipyard.
Since I just passed my Mate 500 NC (yesterday, thank you) and I already have my TOAR signed offā¦Iād have to say, Iād recommend sea-school over welding school for anyone contemplating such a choice.
I agree 120%. Except in my condition, I didnāt work shipyards. I did boilermaker and pipelines. Fuck shipyard welding.