For more than 40 years, SCC’s Welding Technology program has served a broad and diverse range of partners and industries through the high-quality education of students, as well as on-demand training for employees. The oldest welding program in Nebraska, it receives more than twice as many applications for admission than it can accept. Some prospective students have remained on the waitlist for up to two years due to lack of capacity. The new facility on the SCC Lincoln Campus, with an estimated construction cost of $33 million, will allow for safe, efficient training opportunities and serve as a hub to different stakeholders in Lincoln and the surrounding communities for years to come.
SCC’s Welding program provides classroom instruction with extensive hands-on training about current welding practices and procedures, metallurgy, destructive and nondestructive testing, inspection, and the principles of fabrication and design. Through its accredited testing facility, the program tests individuals on welding skills for employment and work in the field. Attending SCC to become a welder is an investment that pays off quicker than pursuing a four-year degree. At SCC, the cost to obtain this degree is just more than $9,000. Eighty-nine percent of program graduates stay in Nebraska and go on to enjoy careers as:
- Welding Technicians
- Production Welders
- Welding Fitters
- Supervisors and Inspectors
- Welding Machine Operators
Welding Technology Center
Existing Welding spaces on the Lincoln Campus no longer meet the needs of modern teaching and learning. The rooms are too small for the class sizes desired for interactive, engaged instruction, while equipment and technology are also insufficient, and classrooms lack demonstration space. There is a lack of fabrication and equipment demonstration in the lab space, with large pieces of equipment placed in trafficways, causing safety concerns.
Due to these constraints, the program has had to limit offerings that are vital for a trained workforce. Recent technology and large pieces of industry equipment require significant space needs that the program has not been able to accommodate. With the history and quality of SCC’s educational program, the College has the potential to expand program and worker training in welding-related skills with the ability to grow testing facilities beyond the current allocated space. This project also expands capacity to address pandemic impacts by re-skilling and up-skilling individuals and communities as part of the state of Nebraska American Rescue Plan Act.
The new facility will include more than 23,000 square feet of modern learning and training spaces, including:
- Two modern and innovative labs with 180 welding bays for both students and workforce hands-on learning and training
- Seven dynamic and interactive classrooms dedicated to both student instruction and workforce training and instruction
- An 1,800-square-foot testing lab and 3,900-square-foot fabrication lab
- Common and community building space for students and faculty
