FORGE Is More Than a Welding Competition: Building Career Pathways Year-Round

When people hear FORGE, they may immediately think of the annual welding competition that brings students, educators and industry professionals together from across Southeast Minnesota. The competition is certainly one of FORGE’s most visible experiences, but it is only one part of a much larger effort.

FORGE is a year-round career-connected learning initiative and part of the broader FutureForward™ effort to connect students with meaningful career exploration, industry exposure and real-world learning opportunities. FORGE focuses specifically on skilled trades, manufacturing and engineering while strengthening connections among schools, educators, employers and community partners.

Through workplace exposure, instructor training, industry partnerships, hands-on experiences and access to resources, FORGE helps students move from simply learning about careers to developing a clearer understanding of what those careers can actually look like. It is one way FutureForward™ helps turn career awareness into meaningful connections between students, educators and the regional workforce.

From Exploration to Experience

Career exploration becomes much more meaningful when students have opportunities to move beyond simply hearing about a profession. FORGE is built around a progression of Exploration → Exposure → Experience, helping students gradually develop a clearer picture of the careers and pathways available to them.

A student may first discover a career field, then meet professionals working in that field, visit a workplace or training facility, participate in a hands-on activity and begin making more informed decisions about education, training and employment. A student who has visited a manufacturing facility, spoken with someone working in the skilled trades or participated in a career-focused event has a much stronger understanding of a career than someone who has only encountered it in a classroom or online.

FORGE helps create those connections throughout the year.

Manufacturing Month Opens the Door to Local Careers

Each October, FORGE Manufacturing Month Tours give students opportunities to step inside real workplaces and see manufacturing environments, processes and careers firsthand.

For many students, a workplace tour may be their first chance to see what modern manufacturing actually looks like or to meet the people working in those careers. Students can begin asking important questions about the types of jobs available, the skills employers value and the education or training that may be required.

Connecting students with regional employers helps turn the broad idea of “manufacturing” into a much clearer picture of the career possibilities available throughout Southeast Minnesota.

Supporting the Educators Who Prepare Students

FORGE also recognizes that strong career pathways depend on strong instructors. FORGE Instructor Training connects educators directly with industry professionals and provides opportunities to strengthen technical knowledge while gaining ideas they can bring back to their classrooms.

Training has included blueprint reading, weld acceptance criteria, hands-on welding and coaching from experienced professionals. Experiences like these help educators stay connected to current industry practices and expectations while giving them additional tools for preparing students for postsecondary education, apprenticeship programs and the workplace.

When educators and industry professionals have opportunities to learn from one another, classroom instruction can become more closely connected to the skills and standards students may encounter after graduation.

The Welding Competition Brings It All Together

The annual FORGE Welding Competition is one of the most visible examples of career-connected learning in action. Student welders demonstrate their skills in a structured competition that reflects industry expectations while gaining experience with safety, accuracy and weld quality.

The event also reaches beyond the competition itself. Students have opportunities to connect with employers, unions, postsecondary institutions and other organizations representing careers and training opportunities in welding, manufacturing and the skilled trades.

Those conversations help students better understand what may come next, whether that means college, technical education, apprenticeship, direct employment or another pathway. For some students, the experience may reinforce an interest they already have. For others, it may introduce careers or training options they had not previously considered.

Extending Hands-On Learning Beyond Individual Events

FORGE is also developing opportunities to expand access to equipment and instructional resources through a FORGE Lending Library.

The Lending Library is being configured to provide educators with access to equipment and resources that can support skilled trades, manufacturing and engineering learning experiences. Shared resources can be especially valuable for schools that want to introduce students to new tools or activities but may not be able to purchase specialized equipment for occasional or introductory use.

As the Lending Library develops, it will provide another way for FORGE to extend career-connected learning beyond individual tours, trainings and events.

Built With Industry, Not Just About Industry

One of the most important aspects of FORGE is the role employers and industry professionals play in the experience. FORGE is designed to connect schools directly with the people who understand current workforce needs, career opportunities and industry expectations.

Industry partners can support FORGE through workplace tours, technical expertise, career information, sponsorship, event participation and direct interaction with students and educators. For employers, that involvement provides an opportunity to help young people better understand the careers available in Southeast Minnesota while building awareness of local industries and future workforce needs.

For schools, those relationships provide valuable insight into current industry practices and create more opportunities for students to connect classroom learning with the world of work.

Building Southeast Minnesota’s Future Workforce

Career-connected learning works best when students can see a connection between what they are learning today and where those skills might lead tomorrow. FORGE creates those connections in several different ways throughout the year.

A Manufacturing Month tour may introduce a student to a career they had never considered. An instructor training session may give an educator a new way to connect classroom instruction with industry expectations. The developing Lending Library can create additional opportunities for hands-on learning. And the FORGE Welding Competition can give students a chance to demonstrate their skills while connecting with employers, training programs and other career pathways.

Taken together, those experiences create something much larger than a single event. FORGE is helping schools, educators, employers and community partners strengthen career pathways while helping Southeast Minnesota students see where their interests and skills can take them.

Get Involved With FORGE

Schools, educators, employers and community partners all have a role to play in creating meaningful career-connected learning opportunities.

Learn more about FORGE programs, upcoming events, partnership opportunities and resources here.