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394. America’s Skilled Trades Are Facing a Workforce Cliff — Brian Huff Explains Why

Arc Junkies

Release Date: 02/03/2026

Wayback Wednesday w/ AWS Certification vs. Qualification w/ Daryl Peterson. show art Wayback Wednesday w/ AWS Certification vs. Qualification w/ Daryl Peterson.

Arc Junkies

Daryl Peterson is a SCWI and the District Director for District 5 of the American Welding Society. This week we  hop in the way back machine to revisit a very controversial topic in the welding Industry. We often hear about welders claiming to be "Certified" and then getting called out on social media as being "Qualifed" not Certified. Well, Daryl has done some deep digging through the different codes and standards and has come up with an answer that will hopefully settle this debate.  For more information on the AWS and their programs, check out their website

info_outline Weld Wednesday w/ AWS Robots vs. Cobots: Building an Automation Program with Anthony Nighswander of APT Manufacturing show art Weld Wednesday w/ AWS Robots vs. Cobots: Building an Automation Program with Anthony Nighswander of APT Manufacturing

Arc Junkies

In this episode of Weld Wednesday with AWS, host Jason Becker sits down with Anthony Nighswander, founder of APT Manufacturing and one of the top FANUC integrators in the country. Anthony breaks down the real difference between traditional industrial robots and collaborative robots (cobots), why welders — not controls engineers — make the best cobot programmers, and how schools can bring automation into their programs without blowing up an already-packed curriculum. They also dig into FANUC's education grant structure (up to $400,000 in matching software value), what a robotic welding cell...

info_outline Weld Wednesday w/ AWSThe $100K Myth: What It Actually Takes to Hit Six Figures in Welding — with Dabs Wellington show art Weld Wednesday w/ AWSThe $100K Myth: What It Actually Takes to Hit Six Figures in Welding — with Dabs Wellington

Arc Junkies

Sean "Dabs" Flottman — welder, fabricator, educator, and bracelet-shipping hustle machine — joins Jason on this month's Weld Wednesday with AWS to tackle one of the most debated topics in the trade: the six-figure welding salary. Is it a myth? Is it achievable? And more importantly, what does it actually take? Dabs brings nearly 30 years of experience to the table, starting at $6.30 an hour and working his way through sheet metal, fabrication, and eventually into welding education at a trade school. He and Jason break down the ingredients required to reach $100K — from the top-10%...

info_outline 402. From Welding School to $100K: The KWI Kids Proving Everyone Wrong w/ Landon Earlywine & Jackson Settler show art 402. From Welding School to $100K: The KWI Kids Proving Everyone Wrong w/ Landon Earlywine & Jackson Settler

Arc Junkies

Think fresh-out-of-welding-school means starting at the bottom? Landon Earlywine (19) and Jackson Settler (18) are about to change your mind. Six months after graduating from the Kentucky Welding Institute, these two are working 60-hour weeks doing TIG stainless pipe fab for data center infrastructure up in Logansport, Indiana — earning $38/hr plus $120/day per diem. In less than seven months, they've pulled in $95,000 combined, started Roth IRAs, bought reliable trucks with big down payments, and are on track to blow past $150K in their first year. Jason sits down with both of them to find...

info_outline Weld Wednesdays w/ AWS| Resistance Welding Demystified with Don DeCorte — The Process Hiding in Plain Sight show art Weld Wednesdays w/ AWS| Resistance Welding Demystified with Don DeCorte — The Process Hiding in Plain Sight

Arc Junkies

Don DeCorte spent 46 years in resistance welding, including 31 at Roman Manufacturing, and now teaches the AWS Certified Resistance Welding Technician (CRWT) certification through his consulting company DTS Technical Services. He sits down with Jason to pull the curtain back on the welding process most arc guys never think about — but interact with constantly. From the 1,300+ resistance-welded products hiding inside your local Home Depot, to the flash welds on every commercial jet's front landing gear, to the butt-welded steel wheels under every 18-wheeler and state trooper car, Don makes...

info_outline 401. Data Centers, Nuclear, and the Steel Boom Coming for Welders w/ Stephanie Hoffman show art 401. Data Centers, Nuclear, and the Steel Boom Coming for Welders w/ Stephanie Hoffman

Arc Junkies

Stephanie Hoffman is back on the show, this time as the new Director of Industry Development and Engagement at Miller Electric. Jason and Stephanie catch up on her time away from the industry, what pulled her back, and the work she is now leading across education, business development, national accounts, customer experience centers, and process training for one of the biggest names in the trade. The conversation covers Miller's Instructor Conference happening this July at the Appleton, Wisconsin headquarters in partnership with Fox Valley Technical College, and why Miller is approaching CTE...

info_outline 400. 400. "World's Strongest Welding Table"… Prove It w/ Jason Marburger of Fireball Tool

Arc Junkies

Jason Marburger of Fireball Tool returns for our annual conversation — and he's not pulling punches. We dig into the public feud between Fireball, Sigmund, and Quantum Machinery over fixture table claims, why "world's strongest welding table" needs data to back it up, and Jason's push to standardize testing across the industry. He also walks us through the grinding disc performance guide his shop spent months producing, the surprising winners (the $2.50 Steel Savage, the new 3M Cubitron 3), and why pressure — not RPM — is what most welders are getting wrong. Plus a preview of what...

info_outline 399. From Helper to Foreman: Building a Career in Structural Steel with Chad Doucette show art 399. From Helper to Foreman: Building a Career in Structural Steel with Chad Doucette

Arc Junkies

Chad Doucette, foreman at Ace Welding in Oceanside, California, joins Jason Becker on the Arch Junkies Podcast to talk about going from a random job offer on the street to running a structural steel shop — all in five years. Chad breaks down the real path to growth in this industry: why the helper position is the most underrated opportunity in any shop, how attitude and work ethic matter more than your cert, and why he's now setting his sights on the CWI. He also gets candid about where he came from, how welding changed his life, and the mindset shift that made all the difference. If you're...

info_outline Weld Wednesday with AWS | National Welding Month Special show art Weld Wednesday with AWS | National Welding Month Special

Arc Junkies

In this special National Welding Month edition of Weld Wednesday with AWS, host Jason Becker sits down with three guests who each represent a unique and exciting path that a welding career can open up. Kicking things off is Austin Ross — known across social media as A-Ross Welding — a pipeline welder with roughly a decade of experience and a member of Pipeliners Union 798. Austin breaks down the real cost of life on the pipe, how to break into the industry as a helper, what it takes to earn your spot, and why attitude and thinking ahead can make or break your career out there. Next up,...

info_outline 398. From Night School to Lincoln Electric's Head of Innovation w/ Sheldon Wray show art 398. From Night School to Lincoln Electric's Head of Innovation w/ Sheldon Wray

Arc Junkies

Jason sits down with Sheldon Wray, head of Industrial Technology and Innovation Strategy at Lincoln Electric, for a conversation that is equal parts inspiring career story and inside look at the future of the welding industry. Sheldon shares how he went from studying electronics and computer engineering in LA to falling in love with welding at night school class — and how one chance encounter at a career fair changed everything. He breaks down Lincoln Electric's legendary welding school, what it actually takes to earn your place in the field, and the inside story behind the development of...

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More Episodes

In this episode of the Arc Junkies Podcast, Jason Becker sits down with Brian Huff, founder and CEO of Midwest Technical Institute and Delta Technical College.

Brian shares his perspective on the growing skilled labor crisis, why the U.S. is facing a massive workforce shortage, and how removing shop class and technical education from K–12 schools created the situation we’re in today.

The conversation covers workforce demographics, infrastructure demand, energy production, AI-driven growth, and why construction and skilled trades remain recession-resistant careers with lifetime opportunity. Brian also explains how trade schools can rebuild the pipeline and why this problem must be treated as a national priority — not just an industry issue.

This is a big-picture discussion about the future of skilled labor, education reform, and why the trades matter more now than ever.

 

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