A local manufacturing company is expanding its plant in Kernersville. The company is partnering with Forsyth Technical Community College to help meet its future employment needs.
Deere-Hitachi Representatives met with around 60 students at Forsyth Tech on Thursday to discuss to discuss job opportunities in welding.
The company is looking for skilled welders to help meet its expansion needs at the Kernersville plant. Forsyth Tech has had a welding program for years, but recently received a $350,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation to buy new equipment for its welding lab. Jackie Woods, program coordinator for welding technology at the college, said the advanced lab will help meet the growing need for skilled welders.
“We are going to implement different welding processes, robots, simulators, and we are just excited about everything,” said Woods.
Woods added, “Seamen’s a large company located in Winston-Salem is going to expand its operations 180 plus welding technicians. The demand is extremely high, in fact, the demand exceeds the supply”.
Deere-Hitachi currently employs more than 700 people at its Kernersville plant. In October, the company announced it will create at least 340 full-time jobs over the next four years. The company says it plans to make $97-million in capital investments at the Kernersville site. Deere-Hitachi officials say the upgrades will help the company make more excavators for the mining and construction industries.
Zach Brown of Winston-Salem has been in the welding program at Forsyth Tech since August. He Graduated from UNCG with a degree in technical production, and has been looking for a career to compliment his building skills.
“There is not any one set method to weld. There is MIG welding, TIG welding and Stick, all of these processes and I knew a very limited field of all of them and it has prepared me to understand how the industry works, whether it be the entertainment field that I work in or the manufacturing business of Deere-Hitachi, there is unlimited potential in this field,” said Brown.
Wood said the salary range in the welding industry is around $18 to $35 per hour.
That’s good news for 35 year-old Matt Ferguson. He recently fell on hard times as a free-lance writer and is taking classes in the welding technology program. Ferguson attended the presentation by Deere-Hitachi at Forsyth Tech. He said he’s looking forward to entering a career field that is in demand.
“It’s good to have a fresh start and to do something new, particularly if you have been in an office environment as I have and sort of s sedimentary job as I have it’s nice to get out and work with your hands and at the end of the day you can hold it in your hands and say this is what I do,” said Ferguson.
Deere-Hitachi officials say they expect to hire the first wave of new welders by summer. Meanwhile, Woods says Forsyth Tech is looking into developing a late night training program in welding technology, to meet the growing needs of students and businesses.
