Shortage of quality welders

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I watch in disbelief as the Government proudly says JISCO will begin work on the alumina/aluminium plant by year end. Are all the welders to come from China?

I have thus far heard of no training and certification plan for anywhere near the numbers I suspect will be needed.

Although NTEI, an American Welding Society Accredited Test Facility, has plans to certify some welding instructors later this year, there are no plans for welders for the projects here.

There seems to be a lack of foresight. The much-touted business process outsourcing industry reportedly pays up to about US$200-plus for a 40-hour workweek while a certified welder in the US is paid on average about US$20 per hour - four times that. Some specialist welders can be paid US$100-plus per hour!

The demand for certified welders in the USA alone amounts to many hundreds of thousands of welders, much less the rest of the world. There is currently a worldwide shortage of welders. So, what are we doing about it?

HOWARD CHIN

AWS Jamaica Section

Chairman