North America Faces Shortage of Welders, Despite High Unemployment Rates

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--At a time when news buzzes with reports of the high rate of unemployment among Americans, the industrial sector faces fierce competition over skilled labor, specifically welders. Any industry that involves pipes, vessels, tanks or movement of liquids and/or gases requires the services of certified welders to build and maintain its facilities. Industrial Info is currently tracking more than 15,000 projects in North America across all industries, representing more than $2.16 trillion in investments. The overwhelming majority of these projects, estimated to be worth at least $1.5 trillion, will require some form of welding services. In other words, about 8,900 industrial projects are looking for welders. However, project managers are continually coming up short on finding or spending exorbitant amounts on keeping welders.

The shortage of welders has multiple causes. Many certified, experienced welders are reaching their 50s and 60s and retiring, causing a drain on the population of welders from the top. In any profession, this is a natural occurrence; however, in this particular profession, there are not enough young people entering the workforce to replace those who are leaving, thus causing a decrease in the workforce population. One possible reason for the lack of young people choosing welding as a career is a difference in perception of blue collar jobs by entry-level job applicants. Many more young people today are attending universities than the previous generation, and look for employment in white collar jobs. Finally, many welders are being exported. Many American engineering and project management firms will send their engineers and even their welders overseas to assist on projects in which they are involved. While many of these exports are not permanent, it still impacts the availability of experienced welders at home.

The effects of this shortage are felt all over North America. With welders in high demand, companies are forced to increase their budgets in order to keep their pay competitive or risk losing their welding teams to competitors. Project managers tell stories about welders at the job site being hired out from under them by rival companies, and senior management personnel at construction firms are returning to work in the field because it pays better than their management position. This headhunting is especially noticeable in the oil and gas industries.

Since the perfection of hydraulic fracturing techniques to extract natural gas from shale formations, as well as the advent of in-situ bitumen extraction and production of crude oil, the upstream and midstream oil and gas industries have seen marked growth. As a result, new pipelines, terminals and production projects have opened up a wealth of demand for welding ability. According to Industrial Info's data, there are 591 oil and gas production projects, 822 terminal projects, and 555 transmission projects, representing more than $310 billion in investments throughout North America. Jobs that require welding, such as tank repair, pipe fitting, vessel installation, etc., are rife in these industries, as well as chemical processing and petroleum refining.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.