Apr 25, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

MIAT College of Technology Houston Campus Expands Welding Program to Accommodate More Students and Highlights Demand for Skilled Workers During National Welding Month

The Houston campus of MIAT College of Technology is playing a strategic role in addressing the growing demand for qualified welders and other skilled workers. MIAT College of Technology Houston Campus President John Willis deemed National Welding Month this April an appropriate time to explain how his faculty and staff are accommodating students and employers in the Gulf Coast Region, throughout the nation, and the rest of the world.

MIAT launched 3-month, 7-month and 9-month welding programs at its Houston campus last summer. Due to the popularity of the Welding Technology program, the Houston campus has already increased its capacity to accommodate more students by installing 29 welding booths equipped with state-of-the-art instruction and adding more morning and evening classes.

“Enrollment in MIAT’s Welding Technology at our Houston Campus is steadily rising. We are extremely pleased to be in this enviable position to be adding more welding booths and more classes,” Willis commented. “Welding has a huge impact on virtually every aspect of daily life that many of us unwittingly take for granted. Welders play a key role in making the world a better, safer place by assisting in the manufacture and assembly of personal and commercial vehicles and aircraft, constructing hospitals and schools, and erecting bridges and overpasses – structures and products that are commonplace in industrialized societies such as ours.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, projected employment for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is expected to reach 427,300 by 2026 – an increase of 6 percent over 2016 employment of 404,800. The BLS attributes this growth to importance and versatility of welding across the manufacturing process, which are similar regardless of industry sector and leads to “employment security.” Also, the nation’s aging infrastructure is driving the demand for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers to assist with revamping upgrade bridges, highways and buildings. Still others are needed to support the construction of new power generation facilities and pipelines used for transporting oil and natural gas. (Source: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/welders-cutters-solderers-and-brazers.htm)

About MIAT’s Welding Technology Program

Juan Bernal, lead welding instructor at MIAT’s Houston campus, provided additional insights and information.

“Our program is gaining traction because of its clean, safe, and comfortable climate-controlled environment. We offer more hands-on training than many other career college programs. We also offer classroom and text book instruction that complements the hands-on portion of the training. I see that our students are also enjoying working with our new welding equipment and appreciate our very good exhaust system,” Bernal shared.

The types of equipment being used in the MIAT Welding Shop are multi-process welding machines such as Miller Dimension 650s, ESAB Rebel 285s, Lincoln Flextec 500, Oxy-acetylene track torches, Oxy-acetylene pipe bevellers, hydraulic band saw, angle grinders and other hand tools needed for welding.

“What makes this special for everyone is that this will be some of the equipment that they might encounter in the field/industry. Having access to a diverse range of welding machines gives our students the opportunity to see some of the many welding machines operate. Employers are looking for skilled workers to come into the field not only knowing the trade but having a solid work ethic and working with a safety mindset. In our program at MIAT, I enforce a good work ethic and safety as the highest priorities,” Bernal added.

About MIAT College of Technology

MIAT College of Technology was founded in Michigan in 1969 and has built a strong reputation and effective, mutually beneficial working relationships with leading employers throughout the United States. Having almost 50 years of vocational and technical education experience, MIAT serves several hundred students at its 125,000 square-foot headquarters facility in Canton near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and its 40,400 square-foot campus in Houston near the Bush Intercontinental Airport. The Houston campus, which opened in 2010, is approved to accept international students and is approved and regulated by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Both campuses offer admissions guidance, career services, financial services, housing assistance, and a Learning Resource Center, and are approved for Federal Military and Veterans Education Benefits (VA).

With the support of highly qualified and actively engaged faculty and staff, MIAT College of Technology has graduated thousands of students since its inception. MIAT equips its students with the industry-relevant skills, experience, relationships and connections to employers that it takes to pursue rewarding technical careers.

MIAT develops its programs and curricula in direct response to feedback and input from industry leaders who are seeking qualified employees. The school collaborates with its employer partners to tailor its programs to address the highest needs and priorities of the end users in the industries that they exist to serve. MIAT graduates gain the confidence and extensive preparation that facilitate a smooth transition into the workplace through their industry-influenced, practical training.

MIAT also offers customized industry-specific training for strategic employment partners locally and nationally, which include the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Siemens, Marathon Oil, DTE, and many others. The Canton campus offers Career and Technical Education programs with numerous local high schools, and the Houston campus also offers a co-op program via the Houston Independent School District at Sterling High School near Hobby Airport.

In addition to Aviation Maintenance Technology, MIAT offers programs full-time in Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR), Energy, and Wind Power. The school's curriculum for the Aviation Maintenance Technology Associate in Applied Science degree and Airframe and Powerplant Technician certificate is approved by the FAA under CFR Part 147. MIAT is now also offering programs in Welding at its Houston campus and for Electro-Mechanical Technology at its Canton campus.

For more information, please visit www.miat.edu or call the Canton campus at 800-447-1310 or the Houston campus at 888-547-7047. Tours at each campus are welcome and available by appointment.

MIAT is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC).