TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — More than 100 students in the welding program at Mica Mountain High School filled their campus shop this week, sparks flying as they demonstrated skills and explored career opportunities in Southern Arizona’s growing trades sector.
The Southeast Side school hosted the Western Welding Academy as part of its Blue Collar Tour, a traveling roadshow aimed at promoting hands-on careers to high school students.
“How we doing today everyone?!” a presenter shouted to the crowd. “GOOD!!” students responded in unison.
Welding instructor Kyle Bulawa said the enthusiasm reflects a broader appetite for hands-on learning.
“Kids are excited, they wanna get out of their seat, they wanna stop writing papers,” Bulawa said. “Students just have a desire to try something new.”
Bulawa teaches six sections of welding, each filled to capacity with 30 students. The program’s growth mirrors demand across Arizona and the nation for skilled trades workers.
According to industry groups, hundreds of thousands of trade jobs remain unfilled nationwide, driven by retirements and increased infrastructure and construction activity.
Jayson Beagley, director of the Blue Collar Tour, said Mica Mountain stands out.
“Mica Mountain is a place we’ve been a couple of times before. They have a really strong welding program, and they’ve put a lot of support and effort into the trades,” Beagley said.
That support comes at a critical time.
“There’s a deficit out there of jobs right now,” Beagley said. “There’s about 450 thousand-plus jobs that are unfilled in the trades right now.”
The shortage is translating into competitive wages. “Pretty typically in our area here, a student can go out, get their first job at $24 to $28 dollars an hour,” Bulawa said.
For some students, the appeal goes beyond pay. Isabel Dancil, a welding student at Mica Mountain, sees a future in the field.
“I wanna pursue welding, I’m not sure what industry yet. I’ve thought about structural, making wrought iron doors… I just wanna pursue it and see what path I go,” Dancil said.
As Southern Arizona employers search for skilled workers, programs like Mica Mountain’s are helping fill the gap — one weld at a time.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
