Mobile Welding Training Center Trains Next Generation in Oregon

The PCC Mobile Welding Outreach & Skills Training Center in Partnership with Union Pacific recently visited the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation in Warm Springs, Oregon, bringing hands-on learning to members of the community.

UP's Community Ties Giving Program helped fund the regional partnership, promoting workforce development in Oregon communities. The trailer launched in October 2023 with a goal of reaching young people that may not have opportunities for training in skilled trades.

"Union Pacific is invested in bringing educational and training opportunities to the communities we serve," said Aaron Hunt, senior director-Public Affairs. "The mobile welding lab is a great way to introduce trade-focused educational opportunities to young people."

The traveling training center, part of Portland Community College's Career Technical Education program, provides high school and college students with experience and skills for future careers. Ten students took part in a two-week workshop introducing them to welding while the mobile unit was in Warm Springs.

Students learned four types of welds during the program. Todd Barnett, lead welding instructor for PCC's Skills Training Center, demonstrated welding safety and shop etiquette - yells of "Hot metal!" could be heard outside the unit as students approached the cooling station with fresh welds.

"The Mobile Welding Outreach lab is changing lives through exposure to welding," Barnett said. "After each session, I see a spark in my students' eyes, and I always tell them: 'Follow the light of the arc to your successful future.'"

Students graduating with a certificate from the mobile welding center's program are eligible for a variety of welding positions on the railroad. Welders are critical to Union Pacific's daily operations, repairing and changing rail at switches and other heavy traffic areas. In 2024 alone, Union Pacific will invest $3.4 billion to protect and enhance its infrastructure.