MAC Welding & Fabrication: Building a Scalable Solution to a Distributed Workforce Need

Written By Kim Davis

By Ann Avary

In April 2024, a small group of workforce professionals came together around a simple question: What can we build, right now, that strategically responds to workforce demand in rural Washington? We didn’t have to look far for the answer.

Welding and fabrication surfaced quickly. Not by accident - by recognition. The need is everywhere. And it cuts across sectors and regions.

That’s how the Maritime, Agriculture & Natural Resource, and Construction (MAC) Welding & Fabrication Project got started. Because this isn’t just a maritime issue. It’s not just construction. It’s not just agriculture. It’s any industry where welding shows up, and the challenge is the same: Demand is high. Capacity isn’t keeping up. Access is uneven.

“The MAC Project started as a collaborative effort across Maritime, Agriculture, and Construction to create a straightforward pathway into high-demand careers. It was driven by a lack of access to CTE coursework in rural communities - especially in the skilled trades.

We focused on welding because it’s transferable across industries. The goal was simple: expand access, build foundational skills, and create real opportunity. Students can build credentials, earn strong wages, and stay connected to their communities. That’s a win - for students, employers, and the regions they live in.”

- Dr. Lorie Thompson, Capital STEM Alliance


Data Informed and Driven

Across the system, access to standards-based curriculum, training, and professional development, especially in rural communities, is inconsistent, and in some cases, absent.

At the same time, the numbers are clear: the American Welding Society projects a need for 320,500 new welding professionals by 2029. We’re already feeling it. Programs are full. Employers are hiring. Students are interested, but not always able to access training.

So, the real questions became:

  • How do we expand and scale the training footprint?

  • How do we reach communities where awareness and access have been thin?

  • How do we make this visible to young people, career changers, veterans, and underserved communities?

  • How do we do all of that without building something slow, rigid, or hard to scale?


MAC Is Economic Development

At its core, MAC is about economic development and mobility. Multiple industry sectors - one shared workforce challenge, and a real opportunity to build something that works across all of them.


A Great Team Makes the Project Work

This project works because of the statewide team. That’s by design. We’ve had consistency from the beginning – and that matters. This kind of work doesn’t move without trust, shared ownership, and people willing to build something together.


Real Collaboration - Across Sectors

This isn’t forced alignment.  Participation is voluntary. Alignment is practical. And it works. Through the team approach, we’ve delivered:

  • Approved frameworks

  • Curriculum

  • A statewide platform

  • Shared tools that are already being used

When people choose to align around a real problem, you move faster. And you get better outcomes. MAC is proof of that.


Why This Matters to Industry

Industry isn’t waiting for systems to catch up. MAC is helping close that gap by:

  • Expanding training capacity

  • Aligning to real-world skill expectations

  • Reducing variability in entry-level capability

“At Snow & Company, we see every day how welding skills translate directly into opportunity. Demand continues to grow, and meeting it requires training that can scale. Expanding welding education across communities isn’t just about workforce - it’s about opening doors to high-quality careers, creating access where it hasn’t always existed, and building a pipeline that reflects the full strength of our communities.”

- Tuuli Snow, Talent Acquisition and Engagement Manager, Snow & Company


What This Means for Students

This is simple. More entry points, more flexibility, faster pathways to employment. MAC removes unnecessary barriers so students, career changers, and working adults can move into high-demand careers.

That means:

  • Skills-based progression

  • Stackable credentials

  • Non-credit and credit learning and training

  • Direct entry into employment when that’s the goal

We need to build options that reflect how people move through education and work.


Aligned to Industry and National Priorities

This work doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The MAC Welding & Fabrication Project is well-positioned to support broader industry and national priorities—particularly those outlined in the White House Maritime Action Plan and the Maritime Industrial Base.

Both are clear on direction:

  • Increase capacity

  • Strengthen workforce pipelines

  • Improve alignment between training and real-world demand

  • Support both commercial and defense-related maritime needs

That’s exactly what this project is designed to do. By building a scalable, skills-based training infrastructure, one that connects K-12, postsecondary, and industry - we’re not just responding to statewide workforce demand. We’re contributing to something bigger.

An important question: Does this come at the expense of other industries or workforce priorities? Not at all. Welding is a cross-sector skill. The same training that supports shipbuilding and repair also supports industry sectors including:

  • Agriculture & Natural Resource

  • Construction

  • Energy

  • Infrastructure

  • Advanced manufacturing

  • Automotive

Welding is foundational. It’s about strengthening a shared foundation that multiple industries depend on. That’s the advantage of this model. When you invest in something foundational, and build it to scale, you don’t narrow opportunity.
You expand it.


From Foundation to Scale‍ ‍

Phase I was about building - and moving quickly. We developed:

  • A 540-hour program of study for use in comprehensive high schools supported by three 180-hour frameworks

  • TeachWelding.org as an open access platform

  • A statewide welding pathway map

  • A cross-sector replication guide

  • All resources as Open Educational Resources (OER)

That last part matters. Everything is accessible. Adaptable. Built to scale.

Phase II is where this expands. Now we’re:

  • Building out a full K-12 and post-secondary aligned curriculum

  • Developing a statewide professional development structure

  • Increasing industry engagement

  • Activating an advisory committee

  • Tackling dual credit and articulation challenges directly

This is where the work shifts. From design to implementation.  From implementation to scale.


MAC: A Live System – and What Comes Next 

MAC is both a model and an actively operating system.

The project brings together partners and collaborators from across the state and has built a connected delivery system spanning K–12, colleges, and industry. It functions as a real-time testbed for dual credit, articulation, and training alignment.

Just as important, MAC is designed to iterate. It’s running, evolving, and producing outcomes.

Welding and fabrication demand aren’t coming. They’re here. Programs are full. The workforce gap is growing. Industry needs capacity. The response is clear: expand capacity, align where it matters, and move faster.

That’s what MAC is doing. And we’re just getting started.  

Phase III is where this work fully scales - making what we’ve built durable, visible, and easier to access across the system:

  • Fully scaled faculty professional development
    Building out a structured, statewide approach that supports instructors with the tools, training, and industry alignment they need to deliver high-quality welding education - consistently.

  • Deeper integration of industry leadership
    Not just advisory, but active engagement. Industry helping shape curriculum, validate skills, support training, and stay directly connected to the talent pipeline.

  • Expanded non-credit learning and training
    Continuing to build out flexible, skills-based pathways that meet students and working adults where they are - without unnecessary barriers or requirements that don’t serve them.

  • Stronger dual credit and articulation
    Making sure students can move seamlessly from K-12 into postsecondary and beyond, with clear value, fewer friction points, and better alignment across the system.


Bottom Line

This isn’t theoretical. It’s a working system – built to respond to real demand, expand access, and scale.     



Kim Davis