Each year in March, hundreds of talented individuals from around the country compete at the ABC National Skills Craft Competition. Fluor has been involved with the National Craft Championships for more than 15 years, serving first as a member of the Competition Committee and most recently as Chairman of the Craft Championships. The competition is held in various locations across the U.S., including Hawaii. The 2008 competition will be held in Puerto Rico. Fluor had the first international competitor, from Jamaica, who took second place in the welding competition. The competition includes the following categories: carpentry, electrical, fire sprinkler, HVAC, instrument fitting, insulation, masonry, metal building, millwright, pipefitting, plumbing, sheet metal, and welding. In 2007, there were 130 competitors.
Winning the National Championships is not an easy task, and the individuals that won 2 of the last 3 years are now working for Fluor! Austin Childress and Brody Ledford each have other awards in common other than just winning the National Craft Championships. Both of these individuals also won the South Carolina state welding competition two times while they were in training. Furthermore, they were both trained at Greenville Technical College in Greenville, South Carolina, where all of the welding instructors are former Fluor craftsmen. This proves that Fluor has talent in its own back yard!
Mills Maxwell, Training Specialist, had the opportunity to sit down with these two champions and their supervisors to ask them some questions.
Austin Childress, winner of the 2005 National Competition, will soon complete his second year as a welding instructor of Fluor's Pipe Welder Upgrade Training Program at Greenville Technical College. Austin worked for several other construction companies before coming to Fluor. His most unique assignment was welding instrument valves in nuclear reactors.
In reference to winning the competition Austin stated, "Winning Nationals created more job opportunities for me." Now he is able to teach others what he has learned. "Natural ability, personal enjoyment, a strong work ethic, and a desire to excel are what set Austin apart from others," said Jack Wilson, Director of the Welding Department at Greenville Technical College and Austin's supervisor. Mr. Wilson believes that proper training by skilled craftsmen had the biggest impact on Austin's training. When Austin speaks to welders at the beginning of training, he tells them the benefits of working in the welding trade, including job security and great pay. Austin said that through training, he was able to learn a skill and turn it into a career!
Brody Ledford, the 2007 winner, is working for Fluor as a maintenance welder at the Michelin Project in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He is new to the Construction/Maintenance industry with only 4 months experience. In that short time, he has made a name for himself as someone who is punctual, has an incredible work ethic, works great without supervision, and is willing to work overtime. Brody's Foreman, Lewis Travis, has been extremely pleased with Brody's abilities and willingness to take on any assignment given to him. "Brody's intelligence and the fact that he is multi-skilled, set Brody apart from his peers," said Mr. Travis. One interesting fact about Brody is that he has a bachelor's degree from Wofford College. He happened to see a newspaper article about welder training at Greenville Tech. When he saw how much money he could make, he enrolled the next semester. Brody felt that winning the National Competition changed his career by giving him recognition across the country through many different magazines. When asked about what he would tell others about the welding field, Brody replied, "Give it a chance. It's a lot cheaper than 4 years of college, and you can make more money, faster."
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