A unique event aimed to place prospective employees in front of employers will happen Saturday at North Montgomery High School. The West Central Indiana Invitational Welding Competition will feature 18 of the top welding students in the area.
Competitors from welding/CTE programs from Area 30 (Putnam County schools), Wabash River CTE (Fountain Central and South Vermillion) and West Central CTE (North Montgomery and Southmont) will compete from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each welder will have a project to weld and fabricate.
Participants exhibit their welding skills during the event in front of judges who are local business owners and professionals in the welding field as are many of the volunteers working the event. Participants will have the opportunity to show their work and also network with the potential employers.
North Montgomery students participating are Thomas Laffoon, Lucas Lighty and Brent Runyon. Southmont participants include Regan Remley, who is the only female competitor, and Logan Walker, Jacob Johnson and James Clester.
Event organizer is West Central Indiana CTE instructor Kelly Murphy.
“The judges and volunteers will have an opportunity to hire students upon graduation,” Murphy said. “This opportunity is not typical to students or employers and will hopefully start relationships within the industry.”
Murphy hopes the event will place a spotlight on the benefits of the area welding programs for potential students and their parents.
“My hope is to reach potential student welders, parents and businesses to see what our competition is doing for our students,” Murphy said. “We want to spread the word about CTE and the opportunities we off as alternatives to college and career readiness.”
There is no participation fee due to donations and sponsorships from local businesses which will pay for lunch, awards and prizes.
