More women are entering skilled trades, but numbers still lag behind men

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Plumbers, pipe fitters and welders are jobs traditionally associated with men, but there's a growing number of women going into the skilled trades.

"If you look around, everything is made of welding, " said Kimberly Flores, a welder with HOLT CAT.

She's had a passion for welding since high school.

"I really like repairing, and turning something that's ugly and that nobody really wants, they think is trash," she said. "You get it, you put it together, you rebuild it and make it into something of value."

At just 19-years-old, her passion has paid off. She had her job lined up at HOLT CAT even before she even graduated high school. She's the only woman on the welding team in Irving, and the only one for HOLT CAT in the DFW area.

"To me it just feels pretty normal since i grew up with brothers and I'm the only girl," she said.

But it's not the norm. Women only make up about 5% of the welding workforce. While the number of women in trades is growing, they still lag behind. You can add to that a nationwide shortage of skilled workers in general. 

Part of the problem is that young people aren't seriously considering the trades as a career path. A study by Stanley Black and Decker found  while 85% of young people and 94% of parents think it's a good quality option,  only 16% of young people are very likely to pursue it.

"When I grew up being a mechanic was more something that you defaulted to if you couldn't do something else, and that's not the case anymore," said Lot Burdick, an Applied Agricultural Engineering teacher at Dubiski Career High School in Grand Prairie. He was one of Flores' teachers. 

Students there can learn about diesel trucks and engines. They learn how to diagnose and repair farm machinery and vehicles like tractors, bulldozers and conveyers.

The work can be lucrative. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median pay for welders is around $47,010 a year. Some other jobs pay even more. The median pay for pipefitters and steam fitters is around $59,880, and for elevator and escalator installers and repairers, the median pay is $97,860.

"If you're thinking about it, don't think about it," Flores told CBS 11 News. "Just go for it."

While Kimberly wants to inspire other women to weld, she said it's really a career path for anyone.