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The central Oregon coast is not a hotbed of welding talent. So the Port of Toledo‘s manager, Bud Shoemake, decided to initiate an effort to change that.

Under Shoemake’s supervision, roughly two dozen staffers operate the Port of Toledo shipyard and perform a variety of marine repair and maintenance services. Specialized skills 鈥� including welding 鈥� are required, and the port has encountered difficulty finding and keeping skilled workers. That led Shoemake, as part of the port’s five-year development plan, to create a pathway for certified welders in the small logging town on the Yaquina River.

鈥淚’ve always said that Toledo was famous for exporting wood products and kids, and what we’re trying to do is get these kids good jobs locally,鈥� Shoemake said.

To make it happen, the Port of Toledo went after and received a $261,285 Maritime Administration Small Shipyard Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in June 2019. The port then partnered with Oregon Coast Community College (OCCC) and Northwest Oregon Works, a nonprofit focused on workforce development, and used the grant money to build and equip a 12-bay welding training lab at the Toledo Shipyard Industrial Park. The new lab space will be available starting in February for Lincoln County high school students who enroll in an OCCC welding program. The course is also open to adults seeking to become certified welders.

The college is also offering welding classes at Taft High School, which has its own workspace funded by the Lincoln County School District. Regardless of location, people who complete the new semester-long course will obtain industry certification and become qualified for jobs in a variety of fields.

鈥淭hey’ll be certified,鈥� Shoemake said. 鈥淲e use a lot of wire, and we also do some stick welding. And we cut with plasma cutters. But mainly it’s just a lot of wire welding. It’s not ABS certification, which is more for shipyard stuff.鈥�

Preliminary interest in the program when it was announced this past summer suggests there is strong demand locally for such training. Dave Price, director of marketing at OCCC and former director of its small business development center, said the reaction on social media and in real life was much stronger than expected.

鈥淚t told us in no uncertain terms there is huge interest in the trades,鈥� Price said. 鈥淪o we’re doing everything we can to develop that.鈥�

The new welding lab is an offshoot of wider development efforts by the Port of Toledo, which started with the purchase of a boatyard from Fred Wahl Marine Construction a decade ago. Eventually, the Port adopted a new business plan, which included an education component aimed at training new welders.

鈥淲e started an internship program in the boatyard last year, and to qualify for that the schools had to have an industrial program or shop classes,鈥� Shoemake said. 鈥淲aldport (High School) and Toledo (High School) did, but nobody else did in the district, so that really got us thinking about it.鈥�

More recently, Lincoln County resident Annette Mulee donated to the college $25,000 that will be used to fund 10 scholarships for welding students working out of Taft High School. The scholarships will cover tuition, books, consumables and fees associated with the course.

The courses will be taught by Mike Rasmussen, former department chairman for welding at Portland Community College‘s Swan Island Trades Center in Portland.

It’s not a moment too soon, as far as Shoemake is concerned.

鈥淲e did a couple of big projects last year, and we had to hire 13 temporary welders from all over North America,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e did that just to try and keep up with the schedule.鈥�

Fortunately, OCCC anticipates little difficulty in filling available slots.

鈥淥ur big concern is managing expectations,鈥� Price said. 鈥淲e have 20 bays, so we’ll have one class that runs from February through June. And we’re going to put these 20 students in the new certificate program.鈥�

Then, he added, the possibility of expanding the program could be explored.

鈥淭his welding (course) is the beginning of what we expect to be a broader, larger marine technology program,鈥� he said.