American Welding Society Launches “Take the Torch” Initiative to Attract Younger Audience

Millennials represent more than a quarter of the world’s population. To help foster the next generation of young professionals in the welding industry, the American Welding Society is proud to announce a new membership initiative — Take the Torch.

The goal of this initiative is to speak to the overall age gap in welding and to encourage the younger generation to step up and make an impact. With an aim at Millennials and Generation Z, the Take the Torch initiative reinforces that when you join AWS, you’re joining something bigger — not only for your personal benefit but for the greater good of the industry and the welding community.

“With Millennials driving growth in the workforce, we are prioritizing efforts to attract younger members. An AWS membership is an investment that has many financial and non-monetary perks in the professional and personal lives of the next generation,” said Cassie Burrell, Senior VP, Marketing & Membership Development. “Millennials are a natural fit for membership organizations, and we’re excited to engage the industry’s future workforce through social and professional networking and personal growth opportunities obtained as part of an AWS membership.”

The Take the Torch initiative highlights how an AWS membership can pay for itself each year with the benefits and discounts available to members. From resources like certification, education, and online peer communities to lesser-known benefits, like savings on technology, business book summaries, and office supplies, Take the Torch breaks down the overall value of an AWS membership and solidifies AWS’s influence in the industry.

For more information about the Take the Torch membership initiative, visit aws.org/takethetorch

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The American Welding Society is the worldwide authority in the development of standards, certifications and educational programming for the welding, allied joining and cutting community. We are a not-for-profit organization committed to connecting the welding industry to our extensive collection of resources, informing our members of technological advancements and developing the next generation of welding professionals with the help of the AWS Foundation. AWS serves nearly 70,000 members worldwide and is composed of 22 Districts with 250 Sections and Student Chapters. For more information, visit the American Welding Society’s website at http://www.aws.org.