PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Across Hampton Roads, the shipbuilding and repair industry is booming — but there’s a growing need for skilled welders to keep it going.
At Tidewater Community College’s Skilled Trades Academy, new students like Kenneth Moore are stepping up to fill that gap.
“I learned how to use a stick for the welding and also learning how to balance my stand,” said Moore, who lives in Suffolk. “Also holding the rod in order to keep it steady.”
Moore is one of many students training in welding at the Portsmouth-based academy, where hands-on learning is at the core of the curriculum.
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For fellow student Tobin Champigny, also of Suffolk, the work is about more than just technique, it’s about impact.
“Everywhere you look, there’s welds, there’s beads everywhere, supporting this whole building up,” he said. “So it feels pretty good.”
According to the American Welding Society, there are currently more than 771,000 welding professionals in the U.S. By 2029, more than 320,500 additional welders will be needed to meet demand across industries.
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Mike Vanderwerf, the program manager at the Skilled Trades Academy, says that demand is especially high in the region’s shipbuilding sector.
“We partner with anybody willing,” Vanderwerf said. “Companies come in, hire our students right out of the welding booth. They’ll use my office for the interview, and the students leave that day with a job.”
The academy’s location in Portsmouth places it directly in the heart of the marine industrial corridor, right along the Elizabeth River.
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“Here we have the Elizabeth River right there. Shipyard, ship repair companies all up and down that, and we service all of them,” Vanderwerf said. “They come here. They ask for trained students that are willing to show up every day and work hard.”
As students like Champigny and Moore prepare to launch their careers, they’re also helping to build the region’s future, one weld at a time.
Vanderwerf urges alumni and local employers to support the Skilled Trades Academy Education Foundation, asking for donations of funds, materials, or equipment to help future students succeed in the skilled trades.
