“Weld Like a Girl” selected for Airgas national welding initiative

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) -A local welding program will be taking part in a major welding education initiative. 

“Weld Like a Girl” is among 76 schools from 26 states chosen by Airgas for the 2026 academic year.

Shanen Aranmor, owner of Weld Like a Girl, said many participants have pursued welding careers: “Some of them have chosen welding. We've got several people who have gone on full-ride scholarships to pipeline welding schools and now they’re working in the industry. We have other people that are trying to figure out how to navigate their path.”

The Airgas national welding program has empowered over 16,000 students from more than 190 schools nationwide.

Weld Like a Girl is an empowerment project that makes welding accessible to everyone in the community. “We really try to be as inclusive as possible. Welding is one of the vehicles you can use for empowerment, even if you're not trying to teach someone a trade, just teach them that they can do something that they think they couldn't do.”Aranmor said.

The program teaches community members of all ages, even elementary students. Third grader Luna said, “My favorite part is having fun and like making stuff.”

Teaching the younger generation to weld is important for the future of the trade. William Crittenden of Weld Like a Girl explained, “It's extremely important now because the shift is a lot of older welders, tradesmen in general who have been in the industry for years and years, are starting to retire and there's no one to fill those positions. Within the next few years we are going to have a huge gap of trained professionals and it's going to impact just about everything in the economy.”

Skilled tradesworkers are the backbone of the economy and society, responsible for building many things we use every day.

For more information on how to get involved in welding programs, you can visit the Weld Like a Girl website.