Roughly 400,000 skilled trade jobs sit unfilled across the United States, a number projected to climb to nearly 2 million by 2033, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as reported by CBS News.
Tulsa Welding School is looking to change that, opening a 44,639-square-foot Atlanta Metro campus on Friday in Decatur, designed to prepare the next generation of tradespeople for careers in welding, HVAC/R, and electrical technologies.
StrataTech Education Group, the parent company of Tulsa Welding School and The Refrigeration School, Inc., hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and campus tours at 1287 Columbia Drive in Decatur. The facility offers hands-on training programs in some of the region’s most in-demand fields under the leadership of Tamekia Morris, campus president of Tulsa Welding School Atlanta, who said the region’s rapid growth made the expansion a natural fit.
“The Atlanta region is growing,” Morris said. “If you think about all of the infrastructure, the advanced manufacturing, logistics, energy, and commercial construction, the demand for welders, HVAC technicians, and electricians is constantly on the rise.”
Morris said employers are not simply looking to fill open positions. They want workers who are safety-focused and ready to contribute from their first day on the job, qualities she said the school is built to develop.
Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
The campus operates on a seven-month program model, with students spending four days a week in hands-on lab settings and one day in online coursework. Morris described the labs as mirrors of real-world job sites.
“The more you burn, the more you learn,” she said, noting the school’s emphasis on applied training over lecture-based learning.
Lavita Vessel, director of adult admissions, said the admissions process is designed to be accessible. Prospective students can apply at tulsawelding.edu or connect with an admissions representative who follows up on inquiries from social media and web searches. The school also maintains a partnership with Amazon and Walmart, offering a 10-week course held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“The first thing is making sure they have the confidence to believe in themselves and know that we are here to support them, and most of all, leaving with a career,” Vessel said.
Beyond adult learners, the school is actively working to reach younger students through its high school admissions team. Joshua Nixon, director of high school admissions, said his team of four covers territories across the Atlanta area, visiting high schools to conduct career workshops and meeting with counselors, instructors and administrators.
“There are a lot of young students out there that are trying to make a plan, or maybe they don’t know what their plan is,” Nixon said. “Our goal is to help them understand what those realistic career opportunities look like once they graduate.”
Nixon said the workshops cover practical topics such as budgeting and learning styles, helping students who may already be enrolled in shop classes or career and technical education programs see how those interests can lead to a defined career path.
Morris acknowledged that vocational training has historically struggled to compete with the visibility of four-year college pathways, particularly among younger students. She argued that the conversation is shifting. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 projects that AI and related technologies will displace 92 million jobs globally by 2030, while creating 170 million new ones, with construction and skilled trades among the roles expected to see net growth. Morris said that reality makes programs like hers not just viable but urgent.
The Atlanta Metro campus is part of StrataTech Education Group’s ongoing effort to expand access to skilled-trade education in markets where workforce demand is outpacing supply. Tulsa Welding School is now enrolling students. For many of those students, Morris said, the stakes extend well beyond a first paycheck.
“They’re building something for their families,” Morris said, “to change the trajectory of their lives and their children’s lives.”
