Since this past fall, U.S. army veteran Jeremy Bates has been learning how to weld.

“I just really like to weld,” said Bates, who most recently lived in Texas before moving to the Capital Region. “It feels really good, it feels like you actually made something that is really strong, beautiful, and you did it all on your own.”

Clifton Park native Justin Thieverge is a classmate of Bates's at Schenectady's Modern Welding School.

“It was a little bit of a trick at first — most of the time I am used to things coming naturally to me,” Thieverge said. “It just sparked an interest for me. I feel like I could make a career out of it and make decent money.”

Now located on State Street, Modern Welding's roots in the Electric City stretch back more than 80 years. With the country facing an increasing shortage of welders, Modern Welding Vice President Wendy Daubert says graduates are having an easier time than ever finding work. The school boasts an 80% job placement rate.

“It is extremely rewarding,” Daubert said. “I will tell you there is no better satisfaction than to have a soon-to-be graduate come in and say 'I got it, I got the job.'”

According to the American Welding Society, the country will see a shortage of more than 400,000 welders by 2024. Daubert sees that as a troubling trend they’re trying to help reverse.

“It’s definitely problematic because what happens is it delays everything; it delays construction, it delays new businesses,” she said.

In hopes of filling the skills gap, Daubert and some of her students say they’re hopeful high schools will do more to educate students about the benefits of trade schools.

"People are going to realize trade schools are very important, just as universities are, and they will clear the gap one day,” Bates said.

Given the high demand for the skill they're still honing, Thieverge and Bates are optimistic career opportunities will be waiting for them after graduation.

“It’s a lot more reassuring, the fact that there is a job market for it," Thieverge said.

“I just want to be the best I can be at it and if somebody likes my welding, I am hired,” Bates said.