Teaching & Learning

USU Moab Hosts Women in Welding Workshops

By Shelby Ruud Jarman |

USU Moab is hosting welding workshops for women who are interesting in learning how to weld. The class will be led by Chloe Wilson, USU Moab welding professional practice assistant professor.

Utah State University Moab Technical Education Programs is hosting Women in Welding workshops in order to provide a supportive and inclusive environment for women interested in learning how to weld.

The first round of workshops quickly sold out, but the high demand means more opportunities to participate will be added this year.

The workshops are designed for women with minimal or no welding experience. Over the course of four sessions, participants learn how to set up a welder for different welding techniques, apply basic troubleshooting methods, use basic shop tools and machinery, and are introduced to entry-level fabrication techniques. Students also complete a small project by the end of the course to take home.

Chloe Wilson, professional practice assistant professor in the USU Moab welding program, leads the workshops. Wilson started welding when she was 16 years old and didn’t have many professional women mentors to look up to.

“Many women decide not to pursue welding as a career or hobby because they don’t feel mentored, represented, or supported,” she said. “They don’t feel like they have access to this industry. I’ve always recognized that this is a problem, but now that I have a platform to be able to recruit and educate people in welding and the skilled trades, I’m placing a special emphasis on reaching out to underrepresented groups in this industry, including women.”

Welding is a good choice for a career because individuals can make a lot of money very quickly with minimal or no student loan debt, according to Wilson. With a wide variety of job opportunities, including underwater welding, construction, aerospace manufacturing, pipeline welding, and more, it’s an industry filled with opportunities to learn new things.

With the workshops selling out almost instantly, and a long waitlist already in place for future workshops, the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It really emphasizes to me the disconnect between the number of women who are interested in learning how to weld versus the number of women who are actually working in this industry,” Wilson said. “I plan to do what I can to bridge that gap here in Moab, and help women feel represented and supported in their welding journeys.”

Natural talents that many women have, such as attention to detail and an eye for aesthetics, can make them exceptional welders, according to Wilson.

“The diversity, different viewpoints, new ideas, balance, and craftsmanship that women bring to the welding industry is extremely valuable,” Wilson said. “Welding also offers women an empowering way to financially support themselves and their families, earning really good income doing work that they love. This industry needs more women and benefits greatly from women’s involvement in it.”

These workshops are funded in part by USU’s Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research. The center is providing welding kits to participants and offsetting costs to make the workshops as accessible as possible.

The next Women in Welding workshop is set for September. To learn more and be put on the waitlist, reach out to USU Moab Technical Programs via email at moab.tech@usu.edu.

Women looking to learn how to weld can sign up for workshops hosted at USU Moab. This inclusive and supportive workshop will return in September.

WRITER

Shelby Ruud Jarman
Writer
College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences
208-705-2282
shelby.ruud@usu.edu

CONTACT

Rachel Stenta
Technical Education Coordinator
USU Moab
(435) 797-1538
rachel.stenta@usu.edu



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