BOTETOURT (WSLS 10) - Botetourt County Supervisors and School Board members got the opportunity to take a look at the County's expanded welding program Monday evening.
A brand new lab, which opened last year, has allowed the high school program to become the only one in the state to be certified by the American Welders Association.
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Many students are now graduating with certifications allowing them to be employed right out of school.
"We can definitely get to fully double the size of what we were before and having students in second and third year, they're going to learn a lot more technique, they're going to learn a lot more about what it really means to be a welder, not just how to weld," said Facilities Manager Brian Price, who works for one of the lab's sponsors, Altec.
Price says last year, four students who took the program ended up qualifying for scholarships to college.