[KHTS] – Faculty from College of the Canyons’ Welding Technology department are partnering with the Boy Scouts of America to help scouts earn a merit badge, COC officials announced Friday.

Ten Santa Clarita scouts will have the opportunity to earn the recently-introduced welding merit badge during a special event being held by COC faculty and volunteer welding instructors on April 19.

“Up until now there wasn’t any exposure to welding and fabrication within the Boy Scouts of America, to my knowledge,” said Tim Baber, department chair of Welding Technology at COC. “This is being done throughout the United States. The welding merit badge is one of the most highly coveted merit badges out there right now because of it being so new, and obviously important in (filling) the skills gap.”

The event will feature an interactive morning of fun instruction, and is designed to introduce participating scouts to the world of welding while providing access to the tools, equipment, materials and training needed to earn their merit badge, event officials said.

COC faculty plans to give the scouts a tour of the college’s welding and metal fabrication labs and teach them about welding safety, welding processes and available opportunities for students interested in a career in welding.

Scouts will also have the chance to use the college’s state-of-the-art welding equipment to complete an individual Eagle Weld Project, weld their initials on a plate and execute other welding processes, according to a COC news release.

“To get them into a structured environment where they can be exposed to something that may lead to a potential career is huge, and for us specifically, it provides a feeder into our program,” Baber said. “It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

The event is scheduled to take place the morning of April 19 at the COC welding technology lab.