Northwest State Community College, OhioMeansJobs-Paulding County, Paulding High School, and the Paulding County Economic Development Office are elated to again offer an afterschool welding program at Paulding High School. This same program saw great success last year, as students gained skills, career exposure, and career opportunities. The course is focused on welding symbols, safety, blueprint reading, and applied welding techniques. With continuous improvement always being a focus for the partners, this year’s program will also feature a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification. Input from local employers in Paulding County aided in the creation of this partnership, and ultimately the content offered to the learners.
OhioMeansJobs-Paulding County not only assists in funding these workforce initiatives, but provides the six learners with the skills necessary to gain and maintain employment locally. Tiffany Goings, Workforce Supervisor at OhioMeansJobs-Defiance & Paulding Counties, understands the impact this investment will have upon the learners and local employers. “This is another example of a great collaboration between OhioMeansJobs Defiance & Paulding Counties, NSCC and Paulding HS to provide these young learners an opportunity to gain welding skills and an industry-recognized credential. This opportunity is just an example of the investment OhioMeansJobs is making to help upskill learners and providing them with transferrable skills.” To date, the partnership between OhioMeansJobs-Defiance & Paulding Counties and Northwest State Community College has enabled 37 individuals to gain skills and credentials across multiple sectors.
Paulding High School continues to focus on adding value to the education they are offering to their students. Principal Chris Etzler is excited to bring back this program for his students. “The welding class brings tremendous value for our school. It allows us to offer something that we normally wouldn’t be able to during the school day. One of the students in last year’s class started a job the day after his graduation because of the class, and another student has already been contacted by businesses who want to offer employment. We are sending job-ready students out into the workforce immediately, and our local employers can take advantage of that.” Staci Miller, Agriculture Education Teacher at Paulding High School, is thrilled with the opportunity to instruct the course again. “I am excited to continue with this program and partnership with Northwest State Community College and OhioMeansJobs. I believe this is a unique opportunity for our students, helping them to have a competitive advantage in the career tech industry. Our students are able to take the skills learned during this program and apply them to their future careers, which will help meet the demand for skilled labor locally.”
The Paulding County Economic Development Office and Northwest State Community College continue to work side-by-side to answer the call from local employers. Tim Copsey, Economic Development Director, has been instrumental in communicating the needs of employers, allowing NSCC to create this program. “The Paulding County Economic Development office has continued to communicate with area businesses about what they require to survive, thrive and grow. The collaboration between NSCC, OhioMeansJobs, and Paulding High School, creates a partnership that is focused on growing our Paulding County skilled labor pool, and has the best interest of our employers at heart. We could not be more pleased with this program beginning its second year.” Jim Drewes, VP of Workforce Development at NSCC, is solutions driven and believes this offering will meet a need. “With workforce, our goal is simple. We must listen to the needs of the organizations and learners we serve, and offer them a solution that will add value and produce positive results for their workforce and community.”
