Fleming County High School students were part of more than 500 students from around the country to attend KWI’s first Metalworks Expo.
FLEMINGSBURG — Kentucky Welding Institute’s first-ever Metalworks Expo drew in over 500 high-school students from around the country on Friday.
Director of Training at KWI, Ashley Applegate, said that students were coming from as near as Fleming County and as far away as Texas and Mississippi for the event which lasted from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
“High school students are arriving throughout the day from Southern Ohio and Southern Indiana, Eastern Central Kentucky, Columbia, Kentucky to participate and be a part of this event,” Applegate said.
All of the students were similarly dressed in what Applegate said was typical welding clothing and many of them had welder’s helmets, Applegate explained all of them were taking welding classes in high school.
“This is the first event we have done like this and we are hoping it goes well because we want to do a lot more,” Applegate said.
Greeting the students as they arrived Appleman explained what they were going to be doing and who they should talk to while they were there as there were many recruiters and scholarship opportunities to be had at the event.
“So there is a lot going on today and I am going to give you some of the highlights of the events that you are going to want to do and look for as we go throughout the day. My first stop would be the big white tent over there (a number of huge white tents were set up with multiple booths with information from recruiters and other services) that tent is surrounded by contractors that want to hire you,” Applegate said.
Applegate told the students (this group was from Fleming County High School) that whether they were graduating in one year or three, the contractors at the event were the ones who would start them on their career paths.
“Those folks are going to start your salary, at $62 an hour and you can be making over $150,000 a year. You can be a traveling United States welder or maybe you want to work in your hometown. All of those opportunities exist in that tent. If you want to find a lifestyle where you can have the opportunity to see the world, welding is a great way to do so,” Applegate said.
Impressing upon the students the wealth of opportunity in from of them, Applegate explained they would also have opportunities to figure out how to pay for their education, KWI is a six-month program costing $20,000.
“There are a lot of scholarship opportunities out there but let’s face it, a lot of the offers are not set up specifically for the skilled trade which is what you are here for. The folks in the center of that tent are going to help you pay for your skill trade education at Kentucky Welding Institute,” Applegate said.
There were booths set up to help students fill out FAFSA paperwork as well as a representative from Skills USA to talk about scholarship opportunities Applegate said.
“We have folks from the Kentucky Army National Guard, you can serve your country and they can pay for your education. Kentucky Career Center is here and several of our students have gotten grants from them up to $8,000 which is money you don’t have to pay back. So you can do all of this and get a great education at little cost to your own personal investment,” Applegate explained.
There is also a Mike Rowe Ethics Scholarship which students from KWI have won and Applegate encouraged the students to visit his booth.
“Your next stop in my opinion should be the American Welding Society Careers in Welding’s trailer. They traveled all the way up here from Miami, Florida to give you the opportunity to experience virtual welding and the chance to win a $1,000 American Welding Society scholarship. KWI is going to be one of the first schools to match that scholarship. So that is $2,000 on the line today with the American Welding Society,” Applegate told the students.
There were a few female welding students and Applegate said women in welding is awesome and that everybody should make a point of stopping and meeting Stephanie Hoffman in the American Welding Society trailer.
Applegate asked the students what inspired them to come to the event and they said their instructor, when asked what kind of welding was their favorite responded with ‘tig’ or ‘stick’. All of the students said they had welded before.
Applegate told them about instructors they should stop and talk to and explained the different activities they would be doing throughout the day.
“You can work your way around. There is Lincoln Electric who drove a big truck down here all the way from Cleveland, Ohio today to spend time with you. Showcasing their new products Miller Electrics is parked at the top of that hill so if you bleed blue we have some cool events for you today. They are going to remotely run welders 100 feet away from our shop and you’re going to be welding in that much of a distance and still control all your heat and all your functions on your welders,” Applegate said.
Other activities included a crane operation course and axe throwing among others according to Applegate.
“Other events in our shop will open up so you can climb in a boiler simulator, you can get on scaffolding in the pipe rack in a harness. You can experience welding and simulators with some of our former students and some of our current instructors, showcase your skills and learn a new trick or two. We have a lot going on today and we hope you have an awesome day here,” Applegate said.
