GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Kids all over the state have been spending the past few months at various summer camps, but one of them hosted at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is hoping to teach skills that could turn into a career
This isn’t your typical summer camp. Bunk beds, arts and crafts, and kayaking have been replaced by nuts, bolts, and something else.
“The Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs Camp is an excellent experience for them,” according to welding instructor John Russell. “They can see manufacturing first hand.”
The program introduces youths to local manufacturing facilities and informs them of high-paying jobs.
The average welder makes $69,000 a year and with those high wages and benefits, Russell and others are encouraging students to work in the industry.
Alex Steiner, one of the nine boys that attended the program, said he enjoyed the experience.
“I’ve actually learned a lot,” said Steiner. “Safety, how to weld properly, and it’s been fun.”
The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, which holds more than a dozen camps across the country, was a sponsor of the program.
