The CWB Association brings you a weekly podcast that connects to welding professionals around the world to share their passion and give you the right tips to stay on top of what’s happening in the welding industry.
Join Max as he travels virtually to Würenlos, Switzerland featuring our guest, Aimée Schmelzer, CEO of ArtWelding and the first female President of the Swiss Welding Association. Amy passionately outlines her mission to modernize the welding industry, attract the younger generation, and fortify the dwindling workforce through innovative solutions such as leadership training, the development of virtual reality products, and an ingenious digital job fair. Get ready to be inspired in this episode as Amy's initiatives and her commitment to the future of the welding industry is truly groundbreaking!
Check out ArtWelding:
Website: https://artwelding.ch/
Check out the Swiss Welding Association:
Website: https://swisswelding.com/
Thank you to our Podcast Advertisers:
Canada Welding Supply: https://canadaweldingsupply.ca/
WeldReady: https://weld-ready.ca/
There is no better time to be a member! The CWB Association membership is new, improved and focused on you. We offer a FREE membership with a full suite of benefits to build your career, stay informed, and support the Canadian welding industry. https://www.cwbgroup.org/association/become-a-member
The CWB Association brings you a weekly podcast that connects to welding professionals around the world to share their passion and give you the right tips to stay on top of what’s happening in the welding industry.
Join Max as he travels virtually to Würenlos, Switzerland featuring our guest, Aimée Schmelzer, CEO of ArtWelding and the first female President of the Swiss Welding Association. Amy passionately outlines her mission to modernize the welding industry, attract the younger generation, and fortify the dwindling workforce through innovative solutions such as leadership training, the development of virtual reality products, and an ingenious digital job fair. Get ready to be inspired in this episode as Amy's initiatives and her commitment to the future of the welding industry is truly groundbreaking!
Check out ArtWelding:
Website: https://artwelding.ch/
Check out the Swiss Welding Association:
Website: https://swisswelding.com/
Thank you to our Podcast Advertisers:
Canada Welding Supply: https://canadaweldingsupply.ca/
WeldReady: https://weld-ready.ca/
There is no better time to be a member! The CWB Association membership is new, improved and focused on you. We offer a FREE membership with a full suite of benefits to build your career, stay informed, and support the Canadian welding industry. https://www.cwbgroup.org/association/become-a-member
Alright, I'm checking, checking, good. So I'm Max Ron. Max, max Ron. Shitwb Association Welding Podcast. Today we have a really cool guest Welding Podcast. The show is about to begin. This episode is sponsored by our friends at Canada Welding Supply. They are a family owned Canadian business with an awesome customer support team that's there ready to answer any questions you may have. Canada Welding Supplyca offers quick Canada wide shipping, fair prices and a massive selection of welding supplies. They carry all the cool brands such as ESAB, lincoln Electric and Fronius, but also some of the very hard to find niche brands like Furecup, outlaw Leather and, of course, up and smoke welding apparel. Best of all, they offer exclusive discounts only for our CWBE Association members. Check out Canada Welding Supplyca today to shop for all your welding needs. Remember that's Canada Welding Supplyca.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Max, for having me on the show.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for taking the time to be on the show. I have seen your name and seen you in circles of welding for a couple of years now. For a few years it wasn't until I had one of my colleagues here in Canada say have you reached out to her for the podcast? I said you know, that's smart. I should do that.
Speaker 2:I was really surprised to get contacted by the Canadian Welding Bureau and I thought it was really a great way, a possibility to contact each other, getting contacts.
Speaker 1:Well, I know it's one of the things we've already talked about. Offline is possible collaborations, and we can get into how that looks later in the show. But for the listeners that don't know who you are, Amy, let's start with a little bit of an introduction. So you know, your current role is kind of twofold, or maybe even more than that. You know, I'm sure, like many of us, you do many things, but one of the things you do is you're the owner of Art Welding, right? So what is Art Welding and what is that company?
Speaker 2:Art Welding was founded in 2019 by myself and it has a purpose to really beat the lack of a welding workforce and therefore I did a lot of research and out of that research, I tried to evaluate and to develop solutions for the market and how we can attract the next generation to the welding trades. On how we can train the new welders in a modern way so that they are how do you say that they understand the knowledge that you want to transmit, and also what we can do in order to keep good welding workforce in the trades so that they don't move on.
Speaker 2:And so I do, yes, go ahead, I do consulting for companies what they can do, but I have also solutions on train the trainer, on leadership training, on welding training centers, what is combined with digital simulators, and also I'm currently developing virtual reality products. One is for soft skills development, for leadership, one is for welding safety. It's more like a game, but you know it's a game, but then you get more attention to possible risks on your workplace. And the last thing is a kind of a job fair, a digital job fair, where people can get into what our metal workers doing, what our welders doing. Why is our industry so important and why is it worth to start an apprenticeship, for example, with welding?
Speaker 1:So you really are trying to cover all the bases. You know all the bases of what it takes to recruit. You know train, retain and then upscale throughout their careers, right from the day they decide to be a welder to the day they retire into, you know, hopefully a nice retirement.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1:Now, what brought you into this world? You know I can sense your passion for the welding industry and the welders themselves as people. You know, usually when I hear someone say that they care about the people, they care about the welders, they usually have a connection themselves to the industry personally. So you know, are you a welder? Did you have influences in your life that were welders?
Speaker 2:So, yes, so how I came into the industry? My father, he's a welding engineer and I entered, like in 2010, into the welding industry but, and I must admit, from the first moment, I got the welding virus somehow and so I was fascinated by this industry. I started within Electronium welding, but I think the passion for the welding workforce really came that right from the beginning. I was a lot of time in the production space and I worked a lot of with the, so with the simple workers, let's say, and they transmitted a lot of knowledge and I was always, you know, recognized and I was always a team member.
Speaker 2:And I just think that currently we don't give the appreciation to the welders, what they deserve, and so mainly really like, like, maybe working for the little man to make not the little man, but you understand what I mean. So it's really to make a change that the work of the welders is really recognized, appreciated, well paid also. That's a very big issue and because my really my big, big fear is that if we don't react now, if we don't change things right now, in five to 10 years it will be too late. So that means that really companies will be unable to produce, as you know, a lot of people are going in retirement and the young people are not coming to the trade, and then my fear is what will happen? You know, because I mean wedding is really essential to our, to our modern life.
Speaker 1:So these issues that I hear you discussing are issues that we're having everywhere in the world and and often we get stuck in our own borders, thinking, you know, the problems that are happening in Canada are unique to Canada. You know I go to the United States same there I. You know I'm going to South America next month. It'll be the same conversation there. I worked in Russia and Africa same conversation there. And people think of Switzerland and they think of this small yet very strong country and you know it's interesting to hear that the same fears are happening in Switzerland. You know we hear that a switch with the Swiss have great apprenticeship programs and a respect for the trades and teaching this in the high schools and, and you know, younger. But there is still. There's still the same issues, the same problems.
Speaker 2:That's. In Switzerland we have the same problems and I mean we have like a so called dual apprenticeship. I don't know if you have heard about that. That means that after, after high school, the young people are hired by a company so they work for that company but they have like cool and they have also like training, training workshops for like a handcraft trainings. But what I have to say is, I mean, the Swiss are very proud of what they do, but the thing is that the the so I'm looking for the correct word now that the training, so the training plan for the apprenticeship, is renewed every seven years. So that means that when the training plans are renewed they are already outdated.
Speaker 2:You know as quick as we go forward, and the problem is that the training plans they don't take respect to how the young people today learn. So they you know a lot of. I hear very often we did it always like this why do we need to change? And very often you can't use the young generation for anything. But I think our generation, if we want to attract them, we have to change our minds and we have to make a step towards the young generation and change maybe the way we transmit knowledge to them, and it is possible, but maybe not the way until we did it today, up until now.
Speaker 1:You know you bring up a great point. It's something that we discuss all the time at various meetings is the disconnection between the technology, the pace at which welding technology is moving, the educational facilities, which are struggling to even get the technology to put in front of the students because they do not have the funding or the money or the support from either industry or government, and then the industry itself, who sometimes is reluctant to adopt the technology, and the way they do business can be very outdated. Like you said, they have a way of communicating and developing ideas that are not what the younger generations expect. The younger generations learn differently. They have a different world that they've grown up in.
Speaker 1:If you or I went to go sit in a classroom for grade four 12-year-old or a nine-year-old child, we would think what is happening here? They learn completely different and they learn their whole life that way, and then when they get to work we expect them to forget everything and learn the way somebody learned 40 years ago. That's not realistic. That's not realistic. So the disconnect I find that I've seen, and especially in North America, had to do with the socioeconomic reasons as well, just one of many. We told for 30 years our generations that the trades was for people that were of less intelligence or lazy or bad in school or from a poor economic background they're never going to go to university, so you become a tradesperson, and so we created this idea that the trades was only for simple people with no future.
Speaker 1:And we know look at you, look at me we know that that is not true, that the sky is the limit and we need everybody, intelligent, ambitious, everything. So did this happen as well in Switzerland? Is this happening everywhere?
Speaker 2:I think it's really happening everywhere, because it's the same in Asia, it's the same in Europe. So the trade is really not recognized already in the society, and that is a big problem because, of course, the young people say why should I go and work there when it's not recognized? But I think, to be honest, it starts already with our entire school system. I cannot speak for the North Americans, but what I find is that we teach our children by showing them what they cannot do, what they do wrong. So this is wrong. When they write an exam, this is wrong. That is wrong. This year you made a mistake.
Speaker 2:So we don't teach them really. So look, this is what you are good at. And we don't give them motivation, we don't give them dreams, and this is a problem where also they struggle at the age of 14, 15, when it comes to the decision okay, do I want to go to trade or do I want to go to university? Because we said you are only successful when you earn a lot of money, when you have a big car, when you have this and that and that, and not when we don't teach them look, it's not necessary what materialistic things you own, but maybe it's important that you are happy to go to work on Monday and you are totally satisfied with what you do, but still, of course, you earn enough so that you can grow your family or pay for your bills. Of course that would be important, but I think we don't give our children really the possibility to dream and say okay, maybe I start as a welder, but the road to success is now open. Who knows where it takes me.
Speaker 1:So for yourself, if we took that exact example to yourself, your life, were you a 14 year old girl thinking someday I want to own a welding company?
Speaker 2:Absolutely not. So with 14, I was thinking about an apprenticeship in tourism, but at that time they had enough apprentices, so I got rejected and I said okay, then I will continue education. Then I did my high school and after high school I went to work in the financial sector, in the Swiss banks, and was there in marketing, and afterwards I was working in the IT sector, but it was the job for earning a lifetime, for earning money. And then in 2019, there was the banking crisis and at that time I was supposed to build up a project where we rented IT professionals into banking and assurance projects, and that was stopped immediately after the crisis.
Speaker 2:Then, for one year, I was doing bits and bobs and not really anything interesting. And then my father came to me, who was a welding engineer, and said listen, I should get retired next year. And what do you think? Wouldn't you come just like an administrative assistant to my company and try it out? And then I looked at it and I said, yeah, why not? And then applied for it. And my mom said oh, amy, you have been working at the most extensive street in Zurich, but now you are going to the industry area of Oberwintertour. What are you doing there and I said, hey, I cannot tell you, but I tried, and after I had my really most extensive interview for three and a half hours with online IQ and IQ test, so they still wanted to have me and so I started and that was the best decision I have ever made in my life to start with that company.
Speaker 1:When you were a young girl, did you have a desire or affinity to work with your hands? Was this something that perhaps you always had the talent, but no one said, yeah, go do that. No I even don't think that I had.
Speaker 2:No, I was more like the creative. I was maybe drawing, singing, acting, something like that. But I remember now I mean physics. I had to learn physics again in order to know how the wedding machine works and so on, the electricity flows and so on. I said, oh my God, that was so difficult for me at that time. So no, I did not, absolutely not.
Speaker 1:How did you find the learning curve? Coming from the financial sector to the welding sector, there was a whole new group or region of intelligence that you had to access. How did you find that journey?
Speaker 2:At the beginning very difficult. I mean, when I started and I was down in the production site they told me as the wedge preparation and what I know, what kind of wedge. I said, my God, this is all foreign language for me, I don't understand a thing. So it was very difficult. But I must admit really that I had, throughout my whole journey with the welding industry I had so good colleagues that they did not look at me that, oh what that she wants here in the welding industry, but they really always were enthusiastic in teaching me and showing me. I was eager also to learn.
Speaker 2:So it was because I mean, I have to admit I started in the lecture on beam welding and that's quite a special kind of industry. We did job shops for various companies and it was like the aerospace industry. We welded like atomic clocks and we were welded like parts that would go into space. We welded parts that would go into an airplane, also in the energy sector. So we always had different things to do and I was really fascinated by the parts we got and how they are used. But this was a whole new world for me but I was somehow attracted.
Speaker 1:Do you think you would have had the same amazement and desire to follow this career if perhaps the welding shop was building trailers or farm equipment or a different part of the industry that isn't so flashy and exciting, because that's often what people show or think of when they see welding. They think, oh well, I'll just be fixing farm equipment outside or building tables or you know which. I always try to tell them like I mean, everything is important, but for you it sounded like such an exciting job to walk into.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I must admit I don't know if it would have had the same attraction. I'm absolutely with you. But I think, yeah, because I was not in the wedding process itself so I was more like in the administrative. So I was even far away from the wedding process so, and I could not step into the wedding process as a newbie, you know, just taking the wedding machine and wearing it.
Speaker 2:But I think afterwards, when I started so I made the international wedding specialist diploma and there of course we had wedding classes, and also afterwards I did wedding classes and I really must admit that the more I do it, the more I like it. So I see now it's great to sometimes switch off your head and just build something. And this is what I say, that if you are in the trade, you come in the morning to work and you have maybe five pieces, or you have a piece that you have to repair and so on, but in the evening you see what you have accomplished throughout the day. When you work in the office at the computer, you switch on your computer, work the whole day, switch it off in the evening and you would not be able to tell what you did the whole day.
Speaker 1:That happens to me all the time. It's very frustrating.
Speaker 1:You know, I used to be a welder for so many years and I would go home and I could even tell my friends like today, I built this and then I did this, and then I did this and that's my 10 hours. And then I went home tired, shower, have a supper. I feel good, you know. Plus, physically active, you're in good shape, you feel good. And now I sit here on my computer all day doing reports and proposals and managing stuff. You try to tell people what you do for a living and it doesn't even make sense and it's hard to find that same sense of accomplishment. Plus, I gained like 10 kilos as soon as I started working behind a desk.
Speaker 2:That's also difficult. Exactly, you know, what I recognize is that, for example, the people who really build something, then, for example, when they work at houses, then they go by and say, look, I have worked in that house and I have worked in that house and I have done something here, or I have I do welds in these kinds of trains, for example, and you see the proudness in their eyes that they accomplish something and they give something also important to the community and this is something I think we can also emphasize for the next generation that you know it is important and they do something important for the whole society.
Speaker 1:Well, you know that was a comment I was going to bring up because this leads perfectly to it is with business. Now you know your business, the business I manage, the businesses I've had, and just the way the world is evolving. There's a concept that's getting more important that I think the youth put it very high, but perhaps business still keeps it very low and that's the idea of social responsibility. You know, ethically managed business, ethically managed work sites and a social responsibility of your company, not just to make money but to produce work that is sustainable and healthy for everyone involved the footprint of the company on the earth, the workers that build the product, the management that runs it, all. You know that every step be responsible to the other level.
Speaker 1:That is something that you know is very difficult to just create. That's something that comes out of, you know, from the ground up, like a tree. It's not something you can just make idea in the sky and say, okay, do it. You know it comes from the bottom up and when you're talking about that ride of seeing something you built, that is something that we lost. You know, if you look back a thousand years ago, the tradesmen, the man who made the wheelbarrows and the baskets, and the constructions and the horseshoes and all these things. They were very important. Things did not exist if those people did not show up for work. And those people, those jobs, in one way or another, still exist today and they still are just as important. But somehow we have taken the focus off, you know. So how do we put that focus back?
Speaker 2:So my vision is that you know. So I made you know research on how that the recognition of the workforce changed with time. So when we go back after World War II, of course within World War II workforce was very important because of war reasons okay. But afterwards that changed very quickly. It changed because the academic formation was limited to a small number of persons, and this is something that you know. If not anybody can have it, then it was something that everybody wanted to achieve and but at that time, you know, the difference between what academic people earned and what tradesmen earned was not that big.
Speaker 2:And after, like the 1970s that the end, with the globalization, the difference between the income from workers and academics really exploded. I think before it was maybe like they earned 10 times more and now it's over 40, 50, 70 percent, more times more. And what now? The situation is, luckily, that we have a lot of academics and the handcraft workers are getting less and less. So that means that the need for handcraft is getting bigger and I think that what I see in Europe is already that the handcrafts let's pay more.
Speaker 2:For example, it is like this if you want to build a house in Hungary, for example, you have to wait three years until someone has time to build your house, or you pay more. So the pay goes already up and I think it will be the same for the trades, so it did so. With regards to the payment, that will change, and even more if you consider now that artificial intelligence is coming into the game and makes a lot of jobs obsolete. Formerly, those who work with laptops and just do like paperwork, but of course, like welders and people who work with their hands, won't get away because artificial intelligence will never, ever weld, and I think this is really going to change.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, there's always a natural shift. You know, like, regardless of what humans want, we have big dreams that we control nature, but we don't, and you know things will rotate on their own. What you said about the academics, you know becoming a little bit academic heavy we still need streets paved, we still need buildings built. We're seeing this everywhere. I agree with you. You know, welders in Canada are making some of the most money they've ever made, but that's because there's so few of them and those jobs are so getting so urgent and almost dangerously backed up.
Speaker 1:We talk about the supply chain. You know well, covid COVID exposed all the issues with supply chain that before we would just throw money at it. Well, now we know that that's not a solution, that is only a bandaid, a temporary fix. And we need now, you know we, to identify these gaps the age gap, skills gap, education gap, training gap, all these gaps that we find everywhere. And now we're running around as managers thinking how am I going to attract the young, train them, teach them and then bring them up to what I consider the adequate level of training to do with the things we need to do? It's a very scary, you know, future, but I think it shows it gives a lot of opportunity as well. There's a lot of opportunity right now for people like yourself, you know, with your consulting company, with associations, the IAW, cwb, aws, you know, the Swiss organizations, germans, the Australians, everyone, you know, everyone is seeing that right now. We have to do something to try to bridge that gap.
Speaker 1:One of the things that you brought up I think is key in this, and that is that when you started working for your father and you started looking at the shop, you said you had some wonderful people give you information and educate you, and that form of mentorship, I think, is a big piece of what we're going to have to rely on that. We may have to form more direct formats of apprenticeship and mentorship in our workplaces to say, okay, you know what, you're going to come work for me at this company. Maybe you don't have the training, maybe you don't have the education, maybe you only have a little piece of what I need you to do, but I'm going to hire you anyways because we will find a way to teach you and get you what you need, because we can't just ignore this problem any longer. Thank you, what do you see about? You know in the mentorship process. What do you think about that process with your company even?
Speaker 2:I think it's very important. So what I see is that, for example, young people I made this, also this research with young apprentices and they really had very bad feedback on their teachers, on their mentors within the shop, and I mean, I don't know how it is in Canada, but I have to say in Europe, unfortunately. You know, the language within the production shop is very how do you say?
Speaker 1:Rough.
Speaker 2:Rough. Yes, exactly, and I think this is the first thing where we have to also make some changes. You know that the leadership they need to learn how to communicate in an adequate way. You can criticize, but it's always the fact how do you do it? And also, you know, try to have more empathy, because you never know what the welder, for example. You know he has to weld with 35 degrees Celsius, his heart maybe a drop fell into his eye and still he had to continue to weld. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So, it's.
Speaker 2:But there is not that, you know, because it was never like that. They always used to work in this manner and so that's why they do it. So I think this we have to change, and I think what I also heard from the young people they would like to have more responsibility. So why not? Why stick to? You know what we used to do. Why not stand and look? You are an important part of the team, so this is now your responsibility. Try to figure out how you could do it. I'm here for you or we can find it out together how you do it and really like involve them more, not just just you know. Give them very straightforward plans what they have to do, and I heard sometimes back that they, at the beginning, they are not even in the production. They just bring the coffee. They have to clean something you know.
Speaker 2:They just do like very for words meaningless yes, exactly, and so I think this is, you know, trust the young people and try, you know, to make a step towards them and and and get them from where they are, but from our point and how we were taught in the old days. But maybe you know, try to find new ways.
Speaker 1:No, that's exactly, I think, the right things. We expect people to just the new workforce to just show up and be ready. But things move so fast now that that's an unrealistic expectation and really more of the focus should be on the existing workforce, the experienced workforce, the managers and the leaders to adapt ourselves. We need to show how that spirit of communication can change. We need to show that these are great places to work. We need them more than they need us. Exactly that's very true.
Speaker 1:We need to understand that and say, look, I can't come here with big hammer and tell you what to do. I need to be nice and say, okay, what do you need so you can be successful here, and give you that.
Speaker 2:It starts already, for example, what I'm thinking of. You know, if welders work, like in shifts yes, you have like, how do you say that? Someone who prepares the work or who makes the working plans and so on, why not involve the welders? Why not tell the welders, hey, you are a team, we need to finish this work until that and that date. What is your proposal? When will you finish it? If the decision comes out of the team, then they will carry it out, even if they say, okay, one day I have to work 10 hours. I know I'm an important part, I committed to this, so I will do it.
Speaker 2:It's totally different than the thing coming for like you also mentioned today a LinkedIn from up to down and that they are just seated. I mean, I can tell you, I have heard about companies where every single minute is calculated what they have to do. They cannot go to a toilet. I mean, these are not machines, these are human beings. Treat them like that. You can even get much more out of it. I say, why not cut a little bit of the middle management and give the responsibility down to the welders?
Speaker 1:Well, that's careful you're saying dangerous things there yeah.
Speaker 2:I know, but I mean, they're absolutely able to think about it and in my experience.
Speaker 2:No, not experience, but I made a questionnaire to the welders and there they said they are absolutely able to take the responsibility and they love the products, what they do, they are proud of the products, what they do, they're proud about their work and I'm really I'm always, like you know, astonished that. You know they really every single way they do, even if they were since 15, 20, 30 years. You know they always try. This is going to be my best way today. You know they are always too eager to beat themselves and this is a motivation. You know this is great and we have to. You know, yeah, keep them motivated and inspired. Inspired also.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly, Well, let's take a break right now for our commercials, because this is a great time when we get back after the break to talk about how you're trying to inspire them and the workforce of the future, because you know, we've only talked about one of your jobs. We still have to talk about the other one. So we'll be right back here on the CWB Association podcast, with Amy Schmelzer here coming to us from Switzerland, and we'll be right back after these messages. Did you know that more than 80% of welders are unsatisfied with their current vendors? With exceptional customer service, weld Ready is here to help grow your business and expand your hobby With expert knowledge and the products you count on. Weld Ready is here for you. Weld Readyca is your premier source for in-stock welding supplies, delivered to your door fast and I mean fast. Weld Ready offers the products you need, such as helmets, tig torches, welders, plasmas, fixture tables and custom starter packages for educational programs. We stock all brands your metalworking heart desires, such as ESAB, miller, ck, worldwide Edge Welding Cups, optrell, 3m, speedglass and many, many more. Visit weld-readyca now to get Weld Ready. And that's no bull.
Speaker 1:And we are back here on the CWB Association podcast. We're having a wonderful conversation here with Amy and we were talking about, right before the break, putting the power back in the production, the people that make the products, hands. And I was at a presentation, I think, last year, and someone the person on the stage said one by one, any true like what is your number one resource? And say, oh yeah, well, we need steel number one resource, fuel number one resource, electricity and he said you're all wrong. You're all wrong. The number one resource is your workers. That is your number one. With them, there's nothing.
Speaker 1:So it doesn't matter what you do, even if you lose the building, if you have the workers, you can still produce something. Even if you lose power, if you have the workers you can produce something. So you have to remember that that is the most important piece of the puzzle. Even if the managers no managers don't show up, no bosses, no leadership, no accounting nobody shows up for work. Today, they're the ones that still make the money and keep the company going. So when you talk about trying to just make sure that everyone feels inspired and empowered, you also work with organizations not for profit organizations and trying to be out there and be an advocate, especially as a woman and I love to see women in a position of power. I think that that's the right vision for the future. Tell us a little bit about what you do as president of the Swiss Welding Association, or the SVS in German. I can't say it in German, but tell us about you, the first, I think, female president of the organization.
Speaker 2:So congratulations, and tell us what that's about. So the presidency is more or less like leading the Swiss Welding Association. But when I was asked if I would take the nomination, I said yes, I will, because I'm really enthusiastic about the association. I did my IWS with the association, I did a lot of projects with the association, so I'm really I will say I'm emotionally connected with the Welding Association and so it's really important for me that it goes on and it has a bright future. But I think, yes, it's a change that now it's a woman as a president, but we also have the first woman as director and we see things changing in. I saw a lot of other associations. You know where there were like I don't know if I can say that, but you know where the leaders were like just, you know talk to have themselves, hear themselves talking have a nice dinner.
Speaker 1:The same old, same old, same old same old thing yeah.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and so this is something now that we really want to change. So we want to really change also the association to make it more popular, to make it younger, and I was at the Essen trade last week. There was a big was what what two weeks ago. And.
Speaker 2:I was yes, I was representing, of course, also the Swiss Wedding Association. There was an international wedding competition where we had like four young guys from Switzerland there whom I know from Swiss, from Swiss girls, where I've always been the whole week, and we had really like a great connection, it was like a family and also there I was, you know. So hence, you know to see how we are going to do, and was very happy that we did very, very well and it's also you know to see. So this was a very, very nice how do you say? Moment for me, because I saw a young guy who's now maybe 22, who has participated twice on the Swiss girls and now on this international wedding competition, and on the first Swiss girls he did really bad. On the second Swiss girls he was third and now he, for the first time, he got a gold medal.
Speaker 2:And I said this is exactly what we need to show the young people.
Speaker 2:So he was really, he had a target, he had a goal I want to win a medal.
Speaker 2:So this is he tried to do the competition, he came twice and he had a third possibility and then he really he did a lot of trials and he worked hard and then when you saw, you know how happy he was and the emotions on his face.
Speaker 2:You know when he accomplished something, and I think this is something that we have to show the people. So it's you know, if you have a goal or a target in your life and it can be, wedding is very good because you know you can accomplish something that you also can see and you do a meaningful job, and so I think stories like this need to go out to the world. What you know, stories of these young people, I you know. I think if we think on how we can attract the young people, it's difficult because we see the eyes from a different point of view. But I think if we let the next generation talk how they go, got into trade, why did they choose it, what is what they like about it, and also listen to what you may change to in order to attract more young people and do that changes, then I think we will have a chance to to attract more, more young people.
Speaker 1:Well, I love that you're a part of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, go ahead. So this is one of my missions with the World Suspending Association.
Speaker 1:Yes, Well, I love hearing that you're so involved with skills. I also am involved with skills in Canada very much and I got to go to Russia in 2019 because my competitor that I trained he got gold in Canada and then, yeah, and then we went to Russia and he got ninth. He got ninth in the world, which I was very happy about.
Speaker 2:Ninth is amazing. Yeah, I mean, we all know that in different countries, the way that are trained differently. So, yeah, we never. So in the world's case, we never get a good place. But we were very happy to win a couple of gold medals now in the US.
Speaker 1:Well, we can talk. I can give you some pointers and we can maybe trade some information there.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, you know you're talking about attracting, you know, more people, but it's not just more, it's also different. We want and this is something that's problematic with the skilled trades around the world is that there's no women. You know there's very low amount of women that enter the trades. There's very low tolerance for immigration. You know, the integration of newcomers to the workplace Are these also issues that you see within the Swiss Welding Association and, if so, how are you trying to? You know, accommodate or, you know, work through these barriers that some people might have trying to get into the industry?
Speaker 2:What I see in Europe or in Switzerland is that, for example, foreigners are very welcome to the trade, but only if they know already welding. So foreigners who do not know welding, because of course the formation is always a question of cost for the company.
Speaker 2:So that is why they maybe would hesitate. This is the one thing, and the other thing non-women in welding. We have very little, almost non-women in welding. But I think one of the things is, of course, as we talked already before, it's already a rough place for men. You can imagine what kind of place it is to work for women. But what I have also recognized is, for example, when I did my practice to open the holder for the electrodes for women, I could not do it with one hand, so I had to use two hands to open it. And then how do I put in there as tick electrodes? So it's also the machines are not really adapted for women. The tick would be a different thing. And another thing is, for example, I had welding trousers but they broke Already. Welding trousers for women.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so the PPE is not there, the equipment is not there, the environment is not there. So you have all these obstacles lining up.
Speaker 1:And I know there's great companies out there that are trying to fix this. Many of the companies that I look forward to support in partnerships right now especially are companies that are trying to solve these things. There's a couple of great Canadian companies that sell only safety equipment for women. Oh really, coveralls, glasses, smaller gloves, smaller equipment, the coveralls where they open in the back so you don't have to undress to go to the washroom. Yes, perfect, yeah so, but how do we do this from a world? I'm talking to somebody on the other side of the world right now, in Switzerland. I'm in Canada, I'm going to be in Chile in three weeks. I was just in the US last week and I'm sure you're the same traveling around. At some point we need to start figuring out how do we fix this as a group all of us because you might find a solution for a little piece in Switzerland, maybe I find a solution for a little piece in Canada. Another colleague finds a solution in South Africa. How do we start bringing this all together and doing some meaningful change?
Speaker 2:That's a very good question and there I have to tell you that within IOW and this annual assembly in Singapore, we formed in Commission 14. This is education and training. We formed a sub-commission that's called Attracting the Next Generation and I was elected the chair of this sub-commission. And this is exactly where we want to gather industry, but also worldwide associations, and where we talk about what can we do and how can we do it, and bring in best practices from companies what do they do, and share all this knowledge and make it possible to get for all other companies and me especially as a woman.
Speaker 2:I really see also my role a little bit as a diplomat for women, because when I'm on fairs and so on a lot of, and I'm there with a simulator, then the women pass by and I say, hey, don't you want to try wedding? And when I try to get them they come because they see I'm a woman with long fingernails, blonde, long hair, and then it's not like someone in working clothes is attracting them. And then I really had a very nice scene happened last year on a job fair and there was a young guy welding on the simulator and two young girls were passing by and not really looking interested. And then I asked him hey, come on, you have to try this out. We are welding on a simulator, but you know, we have to try to beat this guy. Try it and just make more than 82 points for me.
Speaker 2:And then she tried and she really beat him. She had like 87 points and then the girls went on and looked further. But after half an hour she came back and she said, oh, I want to try once more. And then she tried once more, she once again, she had like more points and then all of a sudden she asked, okay, what kind of a job is this and what are they doing? And so, and then she really applied for tri-epfras citizenship. So it's much more, you know, really grabbing them and trying to get them into our trade.
Speaker 1:And I think that's exactly what we're going to have to do, and not just associations, but to you know, we need to lobby to the governments and to the education facilities and the counselors and the psychologists and the teachers, like, somehow we got to get this message across all the levels, you know, of our industries and even of our society, because you know, with welding there's literally nothing that it doesn't affect in some way. All the products around us.
Speaker 1:everything around us is welded and it's not a small piece of our industrial. You know heritage, it's a huge piece of it Exactly.
Speaker 2:I think we, what is the most important?
Speaker 2:We have to transmit the greatness of our industry, the greatness and the importance.
Speaker 2:And what I see very often is, you know, we don't communicate in that way and we don't show how great and how important our industry really is.
Speaker 2:And I think a lot of companies or associations do a little bit on their own. But, as you said before, you know, if we can somehow, you know, get together and try to do something big, and, you know, make like I don't know, you should know it's so big I can't even get. But you know, so in my mind is like really a virtual reality, a job fair, a VR job fair, where we really have the possibility to transmit the greatness of our industry. So imagine you have the VR headset on and you travel with a young man or woman, you know, you go on a shift, you go on a power plant, you go on a train, you go on in the car industry, you know, and so, and they have maybe the possibility to everywhere put one line of weld and then gain some points and then, when they see how important that is, but speak to the young in their language but still transmit the greatness and the importance of our industry.
Speaker 1:No, that's great and you know, I love what you're saying and I love it. But I'm going to ask a question about some of the obstacles to this passion and this dream and this is something that I've, I encounter all the time and it's a struggle for me, a struggle for you too, is that so many people in this industry that you know from the older, older generations they're in positions of power, they're in positions of leadership. They have no desire to change, they have no desire to see, you know, this future. They are more concerned with their own legacy, their own relationships, their own financial gain. So, for the little people like us, you know, who are trying to get up there and get this message across, I find that sometimes we waste too much energy trying to convince everyone about what needs to happen when we already know what needs to happen. You know, how do you, as yourself, as a professional, how do you balance working with, you know, this archaic, old system, but still finding ways to speak to the new, young generation?
Speaker 2:I mean also the problem, and it is encounter or recognize the current problem of, you know, lack of workforce. So this message has arrived also at the highest level, and what I see, at least here in Europe, and so what I see is what they currently do, is they, if you know, if, for example, a worker leaves, they look for someone who comes in intermediate, or they go to a marketing company that they, you know, that they look for the new worker. But what I miss is, you know, they have in my mind, in my opinion, they have to change their way of thinking, you know, is so is the worker only a cost factor to my company or is the worker a value generator? This is already the first thing. You know, what value does he really bring to me and my product that I can sell afterwards? But that would already make a big change in, you know, in recognizing the work of the writers.
Speaker 2:And then secondly, of course, is what can I do, you know, to stop fluctuation or to keep my good welding workforce? And I think a lot of people start already, think about this, but they don't have, you know, I mean, you don't see them in the, in the, in the welding, in the production side. You know they sit in their offices and so on, and so, and me, for example, I do talk a lot with the, with the values, and so I know that and, and and, for example, on Thursday I have one presentation to someone really high management, and I try also to, to you know, provide him this information. So what can he do? It's not that he has a lack, but he has to first think about how can I retain my welders, or what do I need to do to make my company a great company to work for?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's a very great point is about. You know value goes in more than one direction. Value is not just money. Value has many layers to it. For something to be valuable, you know, if something is valuable to me, maybe it is worthless in terms of money, but extremely valuable to me. So you know, and time as well Time is is a very valuable asset. You never want to make a worker feel like they're wasting their time or your time, because time is the one thing that we can never get back Right. You always want to make everyone feel like their time is valuable to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and so I think it really it needs to be paid, and, and I think that's therefore also the highest management. You know, you, you, you can not only count on on cost and so on, and I see already small changes, but they don't really get the, as to my opinion, the big picture.
Speaker 1:Yet yeah, we're getting close to the end of the interview and I have just I have some questions here. I'm curious about just the. You know where you are like for us North Americans. You know what's what's. What's some of the main industry in Switzerland, what's some of the stuff that you know the welders are producing, or the main products that come out of Switzerland that are welded.
Speaker 2:So of course we have the normal like construction, like houses, and and, and, and and and how to say industry companies. What we have, for example, a great company, this company is a toddler with building trains, aluminum trains made mainly, and I think they have also a subsidiary in the, in the States, and a lot of subsidiaries, I think, globally, worldwide. Then the other industry, what Switzerland is very famous for, is the chemical industry. So for example, we have the company Lonza who has produced a lot of the Moderna vaccine or COVID, and of course in Bartel we have like Rorsch and Novartis, so a huge chemical industry also. But we also have like energy factor we need to be here and what else we have. So these are so automotive, nothing, no ship building, so it's more like a railway.
Speaker 1:So that sounds like a lot of stainless, a lot of aluminum, a lot of like alloy steels. You know most of that nickel based chemical industry, of course, exactly yeah, but of course you also have steel in the in the normal construction works yes, so so if I so, if a young Canadian wanted to go work in Switzerland, you know what kind of welding should they get good at?
Speaker 2:I would recommend meek and sick. Yeah, make it big, make it big. Yes, exactly. So I mean it's also here what I see very often, for example, that in the atomic how do you say atomic?
Speaker 1:industry atomic industry.
Speaker 2:Yes, so you know, when we have like the yearly shutdown for the, for the, how do you say maintenance, maintenance, thank you, yeah, they are looking for 80, 200 welders and they come from all over the world and they have to do the special tests you know for welding, and I mean, maybe 200, 300 come and 80 are then then, you know, allowed to go into the, into the production on the production side to it.
Speaker 1:So that sounds exciting?
Speaker 2:Yes, it is, it is. You know. I mean, this is really tick welding with mirror, and so this is really high end.
Speaker 1:Well, I thought I might have to brush up on my skills. Maybe I'll come work a little bit out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, why not? Why not, I mean? But I heard in Australia they even pay more for for, you know, for the, for the, for the really good workers in the atomic.
Speaker 1:Well, some of the wages in the in the world are getting, you know, very high, I mean hearing about $100 an hour here in Canada for some welders, really, if not, if not more.
Speaker 1:So you know it's. It's really just coming down to the need and the lack of workforce. It drives the price up. You know, I have a bathroom, I need a plumber, for they told me, you know, six months you wait for a plumber or you'll pay so much money. Yeah, because nobody's going into plumbing and there's no young plumbers, and it's. This is a this is a problem that we need to tackle, and it's not just about getting people in, but it's also about making sure that they stay.
Speaker 2:You know, that's exactly and that's a big, big obstacle If they, if the wage is okay, you know. I mean I have a have a welder friend here in Switzerland. He is like 36 years old, two children and a wife, and from his wage she cannot pay for the family. It's not enough. So the wife has to go to work and I think that's that cannot be, you know. So, yeah, so what's next on?
Speaker 1:the what's next on the list for you, amy? What is it that you hope to accomplish, you know, in the next year, for yourself, with your company, and then with the Swiss Welding Association?
Speaker 2:So for my company, as I told you before, I'm now currently developing this virtual reality products.
Speaker 2:What is, for me, soft skills development in industries, or really it's the industry workers you do, the scenes with, the you know so well just help us to do like most more realistic scenes so that they find themselves we find themselves in the virtual reality, but also the VR safe and also, starting maybe with the virtual reality, job fair.
Speaker 2:And so this is my biggest goal now for my company and for the Swiss Welding Association is is try also to get more like young, young memberships to the Swiss Welding Association, and we are now establishing in I I W, the Commission 14 a, so I wrote today the terms of reference and there also we try, you know, to get in like. So my idea is to get in young welders welders, not academics and to give them a voice you know to, to, so that they can talk to us in on that annual assembly, on that important event. I would like you know the I I W to invite somehow 10 young, young welders so that they do not pay, that they see what we do, but also that they explain how they got into into the trade, what they like, what we need to you know, do it differently, and what their opinion is how we can attract the next generation.
Speaker 1:What sounds fantastic, you're going to have to let me, let me know how to get involved with some of this work that you're doing, because I would love to participate as well For the listeners out there. For the listeners out there, how does someone become a member of the Swiss Welding Association?
Speaker 2:You have to pay the membership fee, that's all, and then you can go as a private person, and I'm even not sure if you have to be or if you have to be located in Switzerland. This I had to would have to read again. Yes.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll just throw in there that the Canadian Welding Association is free and anyone can? Be a member.
Speaker 2:No, we have a membership fee, but it's, I think, like something like $50 yearly. So not bad not bad, not too much as a single, single member, but you have also like a company member ships.
Speaker 1:Not anymore. No, we got rid of them All right, and for the, for the last, you know, little space. What would you like people to know? You know? What kind of advice or what would you like people to know about? You know either their career path or some inspire, inspiring words for the, for the listeners.
Speaker 2:Yes. So I would have never, ever thought that I would get into wedding industry. But as soon as I stepped in there, I was really, you know, I knew that this was my way and and I just follow my path. I would have never, ever thought that I would get this position in the Swiss Welding Association. But, you know, I always listened to my, my stomach and my energy and I said, no matter who says what I, I trust my myself and my feeling and I just do this and I go my way straight up. And this is what I recommend everything. If you find your, your, your, your, your dream, your target and your motivation, then you know, follow that path. Don't let anybody, not your parents, not your teachers, pay you what you have to do. Just do what you really are passionate about.
Speaker 1:I love it. Perfect, that's fantastic, and are you going to be over in North America anytime soon?
Speaker 2:It's not planned yet. No, Well then we're going to.
Speaker 1:We're going to have to figure out when we all get together and meet again. I know I wanted to go as to SN this year, but SN was at the same time as Fabtech in North America. Exactly so I don't know why they did that. Next year They'll have to be different, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, so the next S and trade show will be already in two years. Normally it's every four years, but due to Corona it was now. It has now a six year pause, and so now the next trade will be in two years. Then afterwards the four year rhythm will restart again.
Speaker 1:Hopefully 2025. I'll be there to finally meet everybody in person.
Speaker 2:That would be really great and I would love to introduce you and somehow we can arrange something together.
Speaker 1:Well, we're still going to talk after this podcast. I have some ideas, and I'm sure you have some ideas too.
Speaker 2:So yes, absolutely, I mean, I mean all right perfect.
Speaker 1:Do you want to say hello or or send a shout out to anybody?
Speaker 2:No, I'm, I greet everyone. I greet every wedding in two years and I hope everyone you know makes lobbying for our great industry.
Speaker 1:Perfect. Thank you very much for taking the time today, Amy, for being on the show.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me and for all the listeners and for all the listeners that have been following along. Thank you very much for being a part of this. Make sure you check out Art Welding online. You can just Google it. You can find it. The website. I just had it here, but I close it. What's the website? Art welding dot net. Art welding art welding dot net. It'll be up on the release. When we release this, the link will be there. Also, amy Schmelzer is on LinkedIn. You can find her there and you know. If you have any questions, just reach out to us here to CWB Association. We'll connect you or answer it as best we can.
Speaker 1:For all the people that have been following every podcast, please keep following, downloading and sharing. We're having great success. We've just got back from Fabtech. We're going to have a special six edition run coming out of there with a very special cross pod that we did with Arc Junkies, jason Becker, and the Welding Business Owners Podcast, kevin Johnson. So that's going to be coming out in the next couple of months. Lots of exciting things and Can Weld in Monkton. October will be out in Eastern Canada meeting all the great industry leaders out there. So lots of work on the go. Everyone, stay connected. Let's stay together and keep working hard and stay tuned to the next episode. We hope you enjoy the show.
Speaker 3:You've been listening to the CWB Association Welding Podcast with Max Seren. If you enjoyed what you heard today, rate our podcast and visit us at CWBAssociationorg to learn more. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions on what you'd like to learn about in the future. Produced by the CWB group and presented by Max Seren, this podcast serves to educate and connect the Welding community. Please subscribe and thank you for listening.