The number of women in welding has been increasing slowly over the years, growing from 4 percent of the workforce in 2010 to 6 percent in 2023 according to the American Welding Association.
Despite this growth, they still can face a lot of challenges when trying to enter a male dominated field like welding. The welding CTE class at George County high school is trying to break down that intimidating barrier and show that anyone can weld if they put their mind to it.
The welding instructors, first year instructor Taylor Landrum and second year instructor Jason Frey, are trying to create an environment that they hope will be open to all people interested in the field and will prepare them for the next steps if they choose to go down that path.
“Teaching people a skill is something I enjoy about it. I like to see people get a job, that’s one of the happiest things,” Landrum said.
“We weld all the major processes that they do in industry, so we pretty well line it up with industry standards,” Frey said.
There are about half a dozen girls enrolled between the year one and year two classes. with one of them being junior Jenna Watson. This is Watson’s first year in the program and has thoroughly enjoyed her time so far. She originally came to welding as a backup plan if her career plans did not work out but believes the knowledge is useful to her regardless.
“I initially came to welding with a mind that if I cannot pursue engineering, then welding is a good backup,” Watson said. “It’s something that the world always needs so if you can get good at this you’ll be able to always have a job and put food on your table.”
What Watson likes most about welding, however, is its practical and creative nature.
“I like that it’s very creative,” Watson said. “You can have your creative freedom and still sit there and learn, and be doing something educational that you can use later in life.”
One highlight of Watson’s welding career so far was competing in the Darby Ledet Memorial Welding Contest in December of 2024, where she won first place in her division. During this competition, Watson met a lot of people who she believes could aid her later in life.
“We took her to compete at a Greene County event and she won first place in her division,” Landrum said. “I think it was 200 dollars, a pair of gloves, and a torch that she won in prizes.”
“I got to learn, meet a lot of new, good people. I feel like they could teach me along the way in the future,” Watson said.
Another welding student is sophomore Ryan Cunningham. She got into welding because many of her male family members had jobs in the industry and she was inspired by them to carry on the title. Her stepdad had the biggest impact on her decision to go into this field, showing Cunningham the ropes when she was a child.
“He taught me all about it. He taught me a lot of the different things to it and he was like ‘If you ever would want to come on a job with me, it’d be great,’” Cunningham said. “He’s really the one that had the biggest influence on it.”
While Cunningham enjoys the class and making progress when it comes to her, she says that the people are the best part of this class.
“Everybody’s really nice and a lot of them are funny. The teachers are amazing and all the girls get together,” Cunningham said. “We all help each other, we all get each other’s backs, everything’s just good about it.”
Overall, both the students and teachers in the welding class agree that you should join this class if you are interested because it is truly an experience you can only see for yourself.
“Come to welding. It’s fun,” Frey said.
“You’ve got to experience it yourself to know that you really want to do it, but once you do you are not gonna go back,” Cunningham said.
