Sparks Fly as Welding Students Build Career Skills

First- and second-year welding students at OSTC Northeast are diving into hands-on learning and developing skills across a range of welding processes.

Students are practicing flux-core, tungsten inert gas, or TIG, and metal inert gas, or MIG, welding. Their work also includes overhead welding and other advanced techniques designed to prepare them for industry expectations.

Several students are already preparing for their first competitions of the school year. Waterford Kettering High School senior Sophie Munro is preparing for the Ironworkers Apprenticeship Week competition Nov. 9 and the Washtenaw Invitational Nov. 13.

Other students are gaining professional experience while completing their OSTC programs. Five welding students already hold paid positions with partner companies Visioneering, Thermo-Vac, Specialized Steel Works and D&N Bending.

Students are also preparing for a variety of opportunities after graduation, including employment, community college, apprenticeships and four-year welding engineering programs.

Munro plans to attend Oakland Community College to study welding and fabrication. She has already started building a home workshop where she can continue practicing her skills.

Lake Orion High School senior Reese Morris is interviewing and working toward a position with Visioneering. Brandon High School senior Evan Ehlinger hopes to become a pipe welder on an oil rig after graduation.

“I love it. It’s fun,” said Ehlinger, who has been welding for five years.