Did You Know?

Dual Shield X wires offer advancements that make this new series much more forgiving than tradition wires, especially for less experienced welders. This is a huge benefit to users who have an inexperienced or less experienced welder pool.

• According to the January 2007 AWS Journal, the average age of welders today is 54 years old.

• By 2010 there will be a shortage of over 200,000 welders in the US.

• About 5,000 new construction workers will be needed over the next five years to handle major construction projects on tap for Northwest Indiana. The problem is there just aren't enough trained trades workers in the region to meet the need.

• The expansion plans under way at BP, Horseshoe, Majestic Star and public works projects have put the largest squeeze on the labor market since the 1970s.

• Welding has fallen out of favor over the past two decades, as younger more skilled laborers pursue cleaner, safer and less physically demanding work. Now, thanks to a global boom in industrial manufacturing, skilled welders are in greater demand than ever. Companies can't find enough of them.

• Where will the new workers come from? The unions are gearing up their apprentice programs. Numbers are up for the first time in years, but union locals are reporting only dozens of new workers, not thousands. Apprentices trained over the next few years will replace retiring baby boomers, but workers in the construction trades tend to retire before they are 65 years old.