Lighting the Spark in Youth – Felling Trailers’ Welding Camp

It’s been nearly five years since Felling Trailers had its first Youth Welding Camp. In preparation for the Welding Camp, Felling talked with high school students about their futures.  Many of them were anxious, lost, and/or far from certain about the path they want to explore after high school graduation. Felling believes it is beneficial to introduce area youth to various careers at a young age. In our opinion, High School is not soon enough. Working together with Sauk Centre Community Education Director Brent Lieser and Sauk Centre Industrial Technology Teacher Jake Fischer, the basic welding curriculum was built for students in the 12-18 age group. 

Goals of Felling’s Welding Camp

When asked what the short and long-term goals of the welding camp are, Brenda Jennissen, Felling Trailers, Inc. CEO stated, “Our short-term goal is to expose girls and boys to welding and manufacturing in a professional and safe setting. Our long-term goal is to give these kids a memory of trying and learning something new, an introduction to our business, and lighting a spark for a passion in manufacturing for some of them.”  

“Our short-term goal is to expose girls and boys to welding and manufacturing in a professional and safe setting. Our long-term goal is to give these kids a memory of trying and learning something new, an introduction to our business, and lighting a spark for a passion in manufacturing for some of them.”
– Brenda Jennissen, Felling Trailers, Inc. CEO

Growth of Felling’s Welding Camp

During the first few sessions of weld camp, 3-4 students participated in the classes. Today, the Welding Camp has a waiting list of students coming from 5 area school districts and is starting its 14th class session. The curriculum has stayed basically the same but evolves with every session. Instructor of the camp, Ben Myhre, stated during the past 13 camps what he has learned from his students is “patients, ability to adapt to how students learn differently, and to make it fun for the students.” Making the camp fun helps to fan the spark of interest and intrigue their curiosity to learn about different careers.

Growth in Welding Sector

In the past five years, there have been nearly 70 girls and boys that have attended the camp. Felling Trailers has seen three students go onto a welding career after graduating from high school. With over 400,000 welding jobs currently, there is an outlook over the next 10 years of an 8% growth in the welding sector. That means there will be 34,000 new welding positions opening every year. Giving this exposure to the Welding Camp can create an interest in or put a focus on the plethora of career fields. “Thus, in addition to the students of all ages tours we have welcomed and invited for years, we decided to further walk the walk by offering a free youth welding camp. We did not want cost to be a barrier, so our camp is free, making it more equitable for all students.” said Brenda Jennissen.

To learn about a welding career with Felling Trailers go to https://www.felling.com/careers/