The American Welding Society (AWS), the world’s largest organization dedicated to advancing the science, technology and application of welding, announced today that it has launched a new online welding school locator. This tool is designed to boost recruitment industry-wide and help relieve an intense shortage of welders. With nearly half of the North American welder workforce due to retire soon, the U.S. faces a potential shortage of more than 200,000 skilled welders by 2010. 

Due to the rapid changes in the welding education community, AWS decided to upgrade its original welding school locator constructed by the AWS Education Committee in 2003. The newly enhanced version provides updated contact and other important information for nearly 3,500 U.S. and international welding schools. Located on the AWS Web site, www.aws.org, the welding school locator is available free to students, parents, teachers, and others in the welding community. Schools listed on the welding school locator are searchable by zip code, state, or city. In addition, many of the schools featured include specific welding program information, such as class capacity, internship availability, career paths, number of classroom shifts and types of qualifications received at completion.