RLISD welders win top prize at competition

The Rosebud-Lott High School welding team recently won first place in the Texas High School Welding Series.

The series came to the Northern Tool + Equipment store in League City where around 50 Texas teenage welders from 20 Texas high schools competed in a contest in an effort to win scholarship prizes and earn welding certifications.

Rosebud-Lott made a pawprint chair for the Cougars. The team won a $1,000 prize.

Second place went to Hardin Jefferson High School who made a BBQ grill.

Third place went to Giddings High School who made a guillotine log splitter.

The Northern Tool event offered scholarships for the teen welders to help them pursue their trades school futures, plus served as an opportunity for the young welders to earn welding certifications to help their career path. The event was an installment of Northern Tool’s Tools for the Trades program, which is focused on gearing up trades students to prepare them for their future careers in the trades. The Texas High School Welding Series is the only group that allows student welders to compete as well as earn certifications to help prepare them for a strong future in the industry. 

There is a great need for future welders, and the Texas High School Welding Series and Northern Tool + Equipment aim to fill that gap with these competitions. According to the American Welding Society, the welding shortage will reach a deficit of 400,000 workers by 2024, as older welders are reaching retirement age.