The SCILL Center has announced one of its proudest accomplishments to date: Director Jerry Gurrado said that 10 of the 10 students that enrolled in the adult welding class have received their American Welding Society certificates. While the national average is somewhere between 47 and 52 percent, Gurrado said the center is currently boasting a 100 percent average of those who completed the course and went on to receive their certification.
Gurrado said the SCILL Center will soon be starting its second batch of welding students in the adult welding class, with 13 current students enrolled. At the beginning of the last course, Gurrado said 12 people signed up; however, one of them dropped out of the class after the first week and one passed away before being able to complete the course. The ones who did complete the course, however, went on to receive their certifications.
“The good part is that we feel so blessed that this happened, and that was the purpose behind it, was to give some folks the opportunities to get good-paying jobs with some benefits and be able to take care of their families. A number of these folks didn’t have jobs at all, so when I hear remarks like, ‘Well, nobody really wants to work,’ there are a lot of folks out there that want to work very very badly. And there are jobs out there you just have to be trained for them, so we’re trying to be the matchmaker, for lack of a better term, and our board is committed to it, the foundation is committed to it,” Gurrado said.
There are a variety of welding certifications available, and Gurrado said two of the students received three certifications, five of them earned two certifications, and the rest earned one. Gurrado said the credit goes to Andrew Odle, the head of the welding program, and he said they’re blessed to have such a qualified welder and wonderful instructor to lead the students.
