The welding program has all but completely shut down at my local community college. They auctioned off all of their machining equipment for fractions of pennies

The welding program has all but completely shut down at my local community college. They auctioned off all of their machining equipment for fractions of pennies on the dollar about two years ago. If I want to complete any AWS certifications, I will have to drive a ~40mi round trip to Moraine Valley to complete the necessary training. There is literally no place closer, and I live a big city. So, for my own selfish reasons, I would also like to see a push to increase the numbers of skilled laborers. :-)