Lincoln Electric Hosts Welding Summit with AACC

Representatives from 34 community colleges across the United States traveled to Cleveland, OH, to participate in the Lincoln Electric Welding Future Education and Training Summit that was held on October 23-24.

The two-day event, developed and co-sponsored by partners Lincoln Electric and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC; Washington, DC), targeted community college administrators, economic and workforce development leaders, and welding faculty, with the goal of engaging them in discussions about the future of welding education in a skills-gap era. The partners hosted 44 individual participants from various community colleges at the event.

The summit kicked off with an evening reception at the Wyndham Hotel in downtown Cleveland, followed by a working dinner at the hotel. The next day, participants were shuttled to the nearby Lincoln Electric headquarters, where they attended breakout sessions examining training and learning programs at community colleges across the country. They also discussed ways that campuses can improve operations and resources in efforts to increase thought leadership and address the skills gap.

“Community colleges provide immense value to the manufacturing and industrial sectors through high-quality workforce training programs,” notes Jason Scales, PhD, Lincoln Electric’s welding education specialist. “Our partnership with AACC Workforce and Economic Development and its initiatives are a key part of our mission to help encourage the ongoing growth of the welding industry and its future workforce. We enjoyed having the opportunity to share ideas and best practices, and strategize for the future with this group of noted educators.”

The summit’s itinerary also included a tour of the company’s global headquarters and its adjacent Automation Division facility, giving participants a look at where and how welding equipment and products are developed and manufactured.

“Their commitment to providing the most innovative, cost-effective, quality welding and cutting solutions is one that has guided the company for more than 100 years. Connecting community colleges to industry partners like them ensures that the technical training programs stay relevant to industry pipelines and work paychecks,” says Jen Worth, director, AACC Workforce and Economic Development. “This event allowed community college representatives to get a first-hand look at what this company does in support of technical education training programs and how the colleges should position their staff, classrooms and talking points for the horizon.”

www.lincolnelectric.com