Kemppi’s National Best Welder competitions catalyses new professional avenues for women in welding

“I feel honored to be a welder”, exclaimed Hari Durga, an enthusiastic participant from ICF, representing the Chennai region. She is part of a group called Mahila Shakti from ICF, who are currently welding the sidewalls of passenger trains. How often do we hear such accounts of women doing tremendous work in the field considered to be male and machine dominated?

“I am inspired by the quote – Dui Ekkam, which means joining two things to make one product. This got me inspired and interested in welding”, asserted Vandana, a 3rd-year Mechanical Engineering student from C.V.Raman College, Bhubaneshwar. She was one among those who represented the Kolkata region at the National level competition.

Durga and Vandana represent a progressive set of women who are breaking barriers by taking up professional welding. With a huge demand for professional welders, these women could easily grow in their careers while trying their hand at the latest technologies in welding in Robotics, AR and VR.

With advanced technology and specialized job roles, Underwater Welding, Pipeline Welding, Onshore and Offshore welding, etc are gaining importance, making welding a critical industry. “We women are no less than men and we can take up any kind of job. Welding is no longer man’s job alone and we can do it with the utmost precision”, rejoiced Aarti Prakash Patole, who created history by winning the prestigious ARC Cup in China in 2017.

There were many women like them who show complete dedication and intense fervor towards welding. The credits for this pioneering initiative goes to Kemppi India, for bringing women in the welding industry to the forefront, through National Best Welder Competition for Women.

National Best Welder Competition for Women, 2019

The National Best Welder Competition, Season 2 – Finals was held in Chennai on 6^th December 2019. The participants took part in two categories of competitions – one for working women and the other for students. Kemppi India and Nextgen Plasma in association with the Indian Institute of Welding (IIW) organized the National Level Welding Competitions for women in four zones in India this year. The competitions were held in 4 major cities, each catering to a region. The cities included Pune in Western Region, Delhi in Northern Region, Kolkata in Eastern Region and Chennai in the Southern Region. The inaugural session of the competitions was attended by industry experts and heads of academic institutions.

The finale of the National Best Welder Competition for Women Season – 2, began with a welcome address from Mr. Sritharanandh, Regional Sales Manager, Kemppi India. Presidential address was given by Mr. Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, Managing Director, Kemppi India Pvt. Ltd, where he said, “From one place to four places this year, we along with likeminded individuals and organizations, have brought the women welding competitions to where it is today and making it bigger every year. Next year, we would like to expand the regional competitions to 10 cities, thereby giving a chance to more women who are passionate about welding, to showcase their talent and to be the game-changers in the society”.

Dr. Shaju K Albert, Director MEG, IGCAR, the chief guest for the event noted  “in many areas of specialization, women have proved that they can outdo men. Because women are more patient compared to men, they are very good at hand skills and it is proven that they can do much better when asked to perform a repetitive task. Competitions like this will encourage women to take up welding as a profession.” Mr. Devasis Paul, Managing Director, Nextgen Plasma Pvt. Ltd, Mr. Rituraj Bose, Honorary Secretary General, IIW India, Mr. T.V. Prabhu, IGCAR, Mr. Chandran, IMU, Mr. Krishnamoorthy, IGCAR and Mr. Sridar Ramarao, Head Finance, Kemppi India Pvt. Ltd. were other dignitaries present at the event.

Related article: Kemppi brings out the best in women welders through National Competitions 2019 – Read more: https://www.nationalskillsnetwork.in/kemppi-brings-out-the-best-in-women-welders-through-national-competitions-2019/

Skills and knowledge demonstrated in the competitions

From 18 entrants in the first season of the competitions, the number rose to 52 in the second season, establishing the relevance of the women welding competitions. Out of these, 13 participants were selected to the finals in categories of Best Structural Welder, Best Pipe Welder, and Best Student Welder. All the participants were enthusiastic and passionate about welding and demonstrated their skills and knowledge during the competitions. Impressed by the skills and talent these young women possess, many companies have come forward to hire them. Mr. Krishnamoorthy, Scientific Officer from IGCAR, who assessed the performances of the participants noted that one of them could do the assigned task in welding in less than 5 minutes, which is quite rare. This shows the level of skill and talent the participants possess.

However, the results for the competitions are awaited as the metals are sent for Radiography Analysis. The result of competitions in the category of working women is declared taking two parameters into consideration – the Visual and the Radiography or Destructive Analysis, whereas in the students’ category, the focus is on visual and Destructive Analysis to see the Micro-structure of the welded metal.

Bringing revolutionary change in the domain of welding

Since its establishment, Kemppi India has been on a mission to cater to the industrial needs through its innovative attempts. Kemppi’s attempt to bring more women into the welding arena by encouraging them in taking it up as a profession, giving them a platform to present their talents and improved safety and automation in machinery was appreciated unanimously by the participants, their parents, media, and other stakeholders present at the event.

The National Best Welder Competition for Women was a commendable effort to encourage and bring more women into the welding industry, to prove that skill is not gender-biased, and that industry isn’t favorable to women. The competition opened up a plethora of opportunities for women welders, it gave them a chance to meet talented co-participants and industrial experts and showed them a path to move forward in their career.

After the competitions, all the 13 participants were given the participation certificates and mementos as a token of appreciation. The vote of thanks was given by Mr. Anandu Mohan, Marketing Manager, Kemppi India, and closing remarks were made by Mr. Ilhar Ul Hassan, Solution Engineer, Kemppi India, where he said, Kemppi would be the harbinger in the industrial world to propagate women empowerment.