Job center opens new welding school on Youngstown's North Side

YOUNGSTOWN

Centered in one of the most economically distressed areas of the city, Flying HIGH Inc.’s new welding school hopes to play a part in improving the area.

Flying HIGH Inc.’s Professional Development Center is a nonprofit organization that offers 15-week job-training programs for individuals seeking work in welding, nursing and machining based in Youngstown. The welding school celebrated its grand opening during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday at the North Side facility.

The new welding school, located along Bissell Avenue, enrolls 12 students, enough to fill all 12 of the facility’s welding bays.

Mayor-elect Jamael Tito Brown was present at the ribbon-cutting and spoke on the need for job-training programs to benefit the city’s poor.

Inside the facility, each bay has its own welding unit, gas lines, power box and fumigation system, so each of the students gets hands-on familiarity with the tools and techniques involved in the trade.

After students – who are required to pass drug screenings and have access to services such as child care through the school – pass their 15 weeks of schooling at the facility, they are then brought on board by businesses that have partnered with Flying HIGH for an additional six months of specialized training.

Jeff Magada, executive director, said the program was intended for individuals who want to train or retrain for work in the most time-efficient way possible.

Read more about the new facility in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.