AC receives $331,268 JET Grant to leverage advances in welding training

Amarillo College will receive a $331,268 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) that will significantly enhance the College’s welding program, particularly through the acquisition of virtual reality (VR) training technology.

TWU Commissioner Alberto Treviño III will be on hand to personally present the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 31 at AC’s Innovation Outpost, 1220 S. Polk St.

David Hall, dean of technical education, says the demand for professional welders is expected to surge in the decade ahead, both nationally and within the Texas Panhandle. The new VR technology, he said, will enable the College to train competent welders both in greater numbers and far more efficiently.

“The high-quality virtual reality trainers now on the market allow students to watch demonstrations of proper welding techniques, to practice machine set-up and welding processes, to take virtual bend tests, and to receive visual and audible feedback before they ever step into the welding lab,” Hall said.

“In our proposed virtual welding lab, students will develop muscle memory through multiple repetitions without wasting valuable consumable material such as gas and metal. Muscle memory is a critical component in the mastery of a variety of welding skills.”

According to labor market projections from the TWC and Lightcast, an authority on labor market analytics, 22 percent more welders will be needed in the Panhandle by 2030, which equates to about 96 new jobs annually.

The JET Grant also will enable AC to acquire additional live welders and cutting equipment, almost doubling existing welding lab capacity and, thus, directly increasing class-size capacity.