Ep 25 | Welding: Giving Kids Tools of the Trades

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's opened a lot of doors for me and th one of the things I te I really preach to my students is this can be a tool to get you into other trades or other you you don't just have to be you don't have to go to welding school and just that's the only thing you do is you be a welder. You learn pipe fitting. You can learn you can go to a mechanic shop and learn to be a mechanic on either cars or heavy equipment, or you can be a mechanic at a at a factory or a power plant or a chemical plant or any kind of facility like that. Welding becomes another tool in the toolbox up here.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. Maybe you were a straight A student who was on time for class, learned through listening to lectures, and wrote killer essays. Or maybe you were a smart but not studious student who learned by doing and whose favorite class was lunch. If you were the second kind of student, chances are good that if you have kids, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. So what now? Well, my next guest is helping kids like you excel. He's the welding instructor at Pensacola High School, where they were recently awarded a grant for the program. And today he's going to share how the program is helping kids start their young adult lives off strong and contribute to the community. Welder, musician, Tate High graduate, Zach Stefenko. Thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Thanks for taking time out of your, you know, two busy jobs, music career, and four kids to be here.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

It uh you know, you find those minutes here here and there to to squeeze in.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Yeah, that's what I like. I and I really uh enjoyed learning more about the welding program because as you may have guessed, I'm not a welder. So I have lots of questions. Okay. Uh and you shared you were a little bit more like kid two that I just described.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Yeah. So what was it like for you to go from like a traditional student environment to becoming a welding student?

SPEAKER_00 2:32

It was the first time I felt like, oh, I'm excited to go to school now. Because I was learning something new. And I was learning something that I kind of I felt like I was good at, and something that I can they the my ag teacher in 10th grade said the magic words. There's money in this business. I was like, and no college. This sounds like me.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Yeah, because then that gives you the flexibility to do more things.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

So Yeah, it's it's opened a lot of doors for me. And that one of the things I teach I really preach to my students is this can be a tool to get you into other trades or other you don't just have to be, you don't have to go to welding school and just that's the only thing you do is you be a welder. You learn pipe fitting. You can learn you can go to a mechanic shop and learn to be a mechanic on either cars or heavy equipment, or you can be a mechanic at a uh at a factory or a power plant or a chemical plant or any kind of facility like that. Welding becomes another tool in the toolbox up here. So, you know, it it's just it it becomes more than just this is all I do.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Well, exactly. And I think more people are realizing that when it comes to your job, you can expect how you make money to also be personally fulfilling and all your relationships there, check all the boxes. You know, uh a lot of times, you know, we expect these things out of just our career. And it puts so much pressure on us and on young people to make the right choice right out of the gate. And so by providing more options and the tools to explore those options, I think young people will be really empowered and the community will be better for it too, because these sort of trade positions are definitely in demand, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yes. Uh the so when I was at Gulf Power for 13 years, there was a gap between uh the people that had been hired into the maintenance role where we were welder mechanics, machinist mechanics, and stuff like that. I was uh I coined the phrase, I was the senior new guy because when I at 12 years of experience there, the next guy on the seniority list was uh at like 25 years or 26 years. So there was this big gap. And part of that is because you know the 90s happened and technology went through the roof of advancements, and everybody preached go to college, go to college, go to college, go to college. For some reason, everybody in the early 2000s said I'm gonna go to college to be a marine biologist.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Oh my gosh, that's so true.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Yeah. I don't know why. Everybody just wanted to go swim with dolphins.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Same. I I literally tried to study marine biology, but I couldn't pass math or science class.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Yeah, I I wanted to go swim with dolphins, so I just, you know, I just went out in the ocean and waited, and they never showed up.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

So now you're a welcome.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

I'm a doer. I'm not going to school for this.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

I love it. And your program got uh the grant for this program happened in the summer of 2022, and you started with two students.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

How many students do you have now?

SPEAKER_00 5:47

20 between the two classes.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Is that maxed?

SPEAKER_00 5:50

U Maybe I'm not really sure. It's I don't know how to determine I don't know how they determine how many I'm supposed to have. I jumped in the I got kind of thrown in this program a week with a week's notice.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Because I'm I'm the welding instructor at George Stone. I'm the nighttime instructor. And then a week before the program starts, they had an interview lined up. Something happened, no call, no show, the interview, so they were left without a teacher. And this program that they were trying to launch. They did not pressure me. They did not, they didn't push me into this, they just they kind of threw a Hail Mary and said, I wonder if Zach would take it. So they called me up and they said, you know, think about it for a minute, but this is what we're doing. If you don't want to take it, that's fine. We can postpone the startup of it to next semester and when we get a teacher, and you know, nothing there was no pressure whatsoever. My principal was really cool about it and everything. And he so he told me about it, and I was like, well, it would be pretty cool to kind of start this thing off and get it going. So I thought about it over the weekend and was like, you know what, I can do this for a semester, and I can get the program at least started and in in the direction that it goes. And then I found out that none of the kids really knew about it when they were signing up for next year's class. So first day, I'm like, all right, so welcome you.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Right. Well, to go from two students to 20 combined in a matter of months, is I think saying something about the success of the program so far. Yeah. Can you tell me more about what the students are like? What um what makes a good student in this sort of class and this sort of program?

SPEAKER_00 7:34

It's really just willingness to put your hands in there. Uh this is a I'm a I'm a hands-on teacher. It we're all gonna be, we're all gonna take turns right now. We're still waiting on welding booths and a few things to show up so we can get the hopefully started with a new teacher next semester. But it's it's really just participating, being out in the shop, being willing to being willing to grab anything I hand you and try it. And I had a few students that were just kind of like, you know, because I always ask them, why did you want to take welding? Some are, well, my dad, I've seen my dad welding in a shop, or um, I I want to learn a trade because I don't really want to go to college. There's good answers. I hear it's a good m money-making business. And then I get a couple students who are like, oh, I thought it'd be an easy. No, it's not. Not with me. Because your participation grade is gonna be half of your grade. So if you give me half effort, welding is a pass or fail industry. Your weld can be 99% perfect. And if that one percent is wrong, it's a fail. So you either are in this or you fail.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

So talk to me, talk to me about what the program entails. I know uh safety is one of them, but what are some of what does it look like to be in that program as a high school student?

SPEAKER_00 9:03

So uh the we the way we start them out first is we learn how to use a cutting torch. And I take them through how to set it up correctly, how to how to read the gauges, how to put everything together. And then we learn what it looks like, what it sounds like when it's when it's dialed in correctly, and then we learn how to cut metal. And I've had them cut little uh six by three coupons of metal just oh over and over again. And then once they kind of they start getting the hang of it, and most of the time it's just they they go too slow because they're they're not sure. And then when I show them zip zip, you know, go real quick, they they start to get the hang of it, and then when the first time they do actually do it correctly, it clicks and they just they just really go at it. We've been this the students at PHS have been great as far as just being patient and you know, it's like okay, your turn, your turn, your turn, because I can only do so much with fire raining or raining on the ground.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Well, there is that, yeah, exactly. What kind of certifications do they get as a result of taking the course?

SPEAKER_00 10:14

So if they go through the program uh with George Stone and everything.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

When you say with George Stone, are you talking about as a high school student?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

If they are if they complete the two the two OC okay, let me back up a little bit. With George with the George Stone program, because that's how we're running the PHS program, is kind of a a a prerequisite.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

So we have what are called OCPs, they're occupational completion points. And it's it's essentially sections of various learning in a way to build your abilities and your knowledge towards this trade. Welder assistant one is safety and learning how to use a cutting torch. Various things in there with that, but those are the big main things there. Welder assistant two, you actually learn how to run a bead, as we call it. It's not it's not welding in the sense that we are we're not welding two pieces of metal together yet. We're just learning how that rod is supposed to look when you've run a run a correct weld.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

This reminds me of when I'm working in the gym and my uh trainer is talking about okay, we're gonna do this movement. We do it without weights. Yes. And then we do it with the weights, and then we combine it, combine all the movements together.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Exactly. Yeah. It's learning how to run before or walk before you run. Okay. You know, it's learning how to crawl before you walk. So we go through those points. The the way we're trying to gear this is to have uh kids go through the program at PHS through this welding program, and then they can they can get welder assistant one done the first semester. Next semester they can get welder assistant two done. If we get enough, if we get enough uh students in the program at PHS, hopefully we can we can have one class dedicated to what we call SMAW one, which is shielded metal arc welding, in layman's terms, stick welding. But SMAW one could possibly be a a class at PHS as well. And if they can get those done, if the freshman was to start out with ninth grade, get uh assistant one, assistant two the first year, have that sophomore year do SMAW one, then their junior year they can dual enroll at George Stone, and they can either take a day class or the evening class, that the first block of my evening class, I can still have dual enrolled kids. So then their junior year, they're already hitting the ground running in the George Stone class. And they're now they're in SN SMAW2, now they can work on starting to get their first certification. If they go through the whole program, they can walk out with four welding certifications.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Wow. And by the whole program, you mean from freshman year of high school through senior year, correct? With the dual enrollment at Georgetown.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah. So you go welder assistant one, welder assistant two, SMAW1, SMAW2, and then our last OCP is Welder, which has each one has uh the first four have 150 hours each to them. And then Welder is I think it's 600, it's 600 hours because the whole program is 1,050 hours.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

That's so smart. So they would also save money by dual enrolling. What kind of jobs would they be eligible for uh after they complete the whole program?

SPEAKER_00 13:54

To have four welding certifications in the 3G position, just completing the regular welding technologies, not even going to the advanced. Immediately you open the door to go to closest places around here, like would be the shipyard and mobile or Pascagoula. I know Louisiana has some. There's but there's also there's plenty of uh there's three plants in in this town. There's uh Ascend, there's the paper mill, and then there's whatever the power plant is now. On top of there's there's a plant up in Bruton. And I know there's I know I'm probably missing or forgetting a couple others.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Well, that's not even including if they got underwater welding certifications.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

That would be a whole other avenue to take after.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Right, because then they can work offshore.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Yes. Uh underwater welding is a is a much more a much more in-depth thing, pun intended.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

What kind of salary are we talking, not for underwater, but the other ones that you just mentioned?

SPEAKER_00 15:00

So depending on your company that you go to, you know, guys that guys that start out doing structural welding, working construction, first job you're you're looking at probably $15 to $19 an hour starting off. The certifications hopefully would help. But at the same time, I always tell my guys that first job is gonna be the hardest one you get to get because it's like every every job posting wants three to five years experience and then they want, you know, beginner pay. So it's hard to find it's hard to find that it's hard to find that first job uh to give you that welding job chance. Even if you have schooling, you you kind of have to really learn how to sell yourself in in in some way. But it's like once you get that first job, you can have it a week, and then every other job will at least look at your resume that, oh, he already works at a welding company. So structural welders starting out $15 to $19 an hour, that's working construction. If you get up to if you get with a pretty good company, you can you can get you make a fairly good living doing that, you know, get up to 20s, maybe even maybe even close to $30 an hour, but it would probably take you a while. Guys that are guys that have four certifications, they can Tig weld, they can stick weld, they can MIG and Flux Core, you know, that go on to do pipe, those guys are starting out in the mid to upper $20 an hour, and they can they can make a lot of money. They're also going to work a lot of overtime because a lot of the bigger industry jobs like this there's there's not as many regular nine to five jobs. Right. In in a sense. A lot of the guys that make the big money doing this, they work, they work what's called outages or shutdowns. And they go, they hire on with a company. This outage is three months. They work six days a week, seven days a week, 10, 12 hours a day, depending on what's going on. And they rack up the overtime as well.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

But what a better time to do that when you're in your early 20s. Oh, yeah. Right. And you've got too much energy.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Yeah, do that.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Keep you out of trouble, maybe. Well, we can all we can do the best that we can, right? For the kids. So if a parent is listening to this and their child does attend PHS or is about to attend PHS, how can they connect their kid with the program?

SPEAKER_00 17:37

I would assume that's gonna be on their list of when they get when they're looking at classes for what they want to take. Um the the academy thing that a lot of schools are doing now is kind of new to me because we didn't have that.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

I yeah, I didn't either.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Yeah. I was I was in the ag program at Tate, which is where I learned how to weld, but it was basically just, oh, you want to take AG? Okay, so check this box.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Yeah, I was in the redneck program at Plattsmith in Nebraska.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

It was pretty much the same thing at Tate.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

Yeah. Super good skills. Can you shoot a beer can? Yes. Yeah. Then, you know, that was the skills that we learned. Yeah. So I think these uh From a tractor. Uh yes, a moving tractor. I mean, you nailed it. Uh yeah, I think these academies are really giving a lot of people options, a lot of families options, a lot of kids options. Yeah. And as long as they know about them, then you know, that's that's where the their launch point is just knowing what the options are. Yeah. And I think uh, you know, Scambia County is just a magical place to me. I think it's just such an interesting place filled with really cool families, really cool young people. And if we can, you know, equip them to not peak, not be their peak coolness in high school, but to continue out into the community, yeah, then we're all the better for it.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

So as we wrap up, uh my final question is what do you want people to know about Escambia County public schools?

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Uh having worked with a bunch of teachers over my years, having known a bunch of teachers, not just from having kids, but being a teacher, working in the school system. The biggest thing I always tell people is your these teachers love your students. They love your kids. When I was when I taught fifth graders, I I would always tell them, don't ever doubt your teacher does that your teacher loves you. Because if this fire, if the fire drill goes off, whether it's real or not, who's out first? You are the teacher will be the last one out. So that was always that was always my analogy for them.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

I love it.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

And I always tell my guys, I love you guys to death, but sometimes there's a butt.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Sometimes there's a butt, and that's natural. Well, thank you so much for sharing this. This was a really great chat. Thanks. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.