Meeting the need for trained welders
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
Kara and Chris Glenn know firsthand the ups and downs of the oilfield industry in McKenzie County. When the industry is booming, workers from across the country flock to the high-paying jobs. But when slow times come, workers pack up and leave unless they have the skills to transition to different jobs.
But unlike those welders and other oilfield workers who saw their jobs disappear when oil prices crashed last spring, the Glenns saw an opportunity. After losing their jobs with Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners when the company closed its Watford City operations, the Glenns opened Silver Fox Pipeline & Facility Services in Watford City.
But in addition to operating their own pipeline company, the Glenns created a Trade Ready Program that is designed to help displaced workers gain training that will help them secure good paying jobs.
“We recognized the need for training and started the school on Oct. 1,” states Kara, who was a welder in a shipyard in Virginia before she started working for A & B and is now the Silver Fox director of business development. “The idea is to retrain people who lost their jobs and keep them in the community.”