Annual Southeast Minnesota High School Welding Competition kicks off in Rochester

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – More than 400 high school students across Minnesota were in Rochester Wednesday to compete in the third annual welding competition.

The local 6 Plumbers and Pipefitters Training Center of Rochester hosted the event.

Groups of competitors had 24 minutes to showcase their welding skills. Having been judged and scored by industry professionals, Byron High School took home first-place honors.

Students also got the opportunity to participate in a career fair to explore pathways in welding, manufacturing, skilled trades, and the military.

Jeremy Thompson, a training coordinator for Plumbers and Pipefitters, said he was looking for students to apply for its apprenticeship program, and that the event is the perfect place to do so.

“It’s a career. It’s a skill set. It’s something that’s in demand. That’s always going to be in demand,” Thompson said.

The Wednesday competition had several young men in attendance, but also a great number of female competitors, including Kaylyn Bide, an 18-year-old senior at Albert Lea High School. She said she’s been interested in welding since she was 12.

“My dad didn’t want me to be a welder,” she said. “He wanted me to go into the medical field, and I just didn’t have any interest in it. I tried it after I told him I want to be a welder, and he said, ‘No, you can’t do that. That’s for your brothers to do. That’s a guy’s job.’”

Unfortunately, Bide’s father passed away in 2024.

“I‘ve started welding again since then, and my teacher kind of told me to do what makes me happy,” Bide said.

A few of the local high school teachers in the area competed in a teacher-welding competition as well. Austin High School teacher Ryan Stanley won first place.

Find stories like this and more, in our apps.