IRVING, Texas — StrataTech Education Group has opened a Tulsa Welding School (TWS) campus in Irving, Texas.

The TWS Dallas Metro location is the fourth TWS campus and the fifth trade school for StrataTech (which also includes The Refrigeration School Inc. in Phoenix). The Dallas Metro TWS campus will offer professional welder and refrigeration technologies programs in addition to an all-new electrical lineworker program.

TWS has provided hands-on, instructor-guided training for more than 70 years. Dallas Metro is the second TWS location in Texas, joining the Tulsa Welding School & Technology Center in Houston. Together, the schools will work with students, workforce, and employers across the state to address a skilled labor shortage and help meet growing demand for trades workers, a press release from StrataTech said.

“We are thrilled to expand Tulsa Welding School into the Dallas metro area,” said Mary Kelly, president and CEO of StrataTech, in the release. “Texas is ripe with opportunity for skilled tradespeople, and we are looking forward to providing greater access to education and resources needed to train to become skilled trade professionals. We are focused on empowering our students to change their lives and make an impact in the communities they serve.”

Demand for skilled trades workers is at an all-time high, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an expected average of about 723,400 openings per year based on growth and replacement needs within the construction and extraction industries.

The professional welder program at TWS Dallas Metro will train students in the skills needed for entry-level employment. Students will receive hands-on training in structural welding, flux core welding, and pipe welding from instructors with years of professional experience. The refrigeration technologies program will train students in the fundamentals of HVACR technologies, preparing them for entry-level opportunities in refrigeration service and maintenance. Both the professional welder and refrigeration technologies programs can be completed in as few as seven months.

TWS Dallas Metro is the first TWS campus to include StrataTech’s 15-week electrical lineworker program. The electrical lineworker program will train students for entry-level employment in electrical power distribution construction, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair. In addition to pole construction and climbing courses, students can receive optional certifications in bucket rescue, pole-top rescue, and first aid, and earn their Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10 card.

The new campus will also provide local employers opportunities to train their workforces through StrataTech’s StrataSkills program. StrataTech launched StrataSkills in 2022 to serve as a workforce development and retention solution for companies that employ electricians, welders, and HVACR technicians. TWS Dallas Metro will offer short-term, customized training programs to Dallas-area manufacturers, fabricators, and construction companies.