Eastern’s Hansen in France chasing WorldSkills championship

In just a couple of days, Utah State University Eastern’s Wyatt Hansen boards an airplane headed for Lyon, France, for the WorldSkills Welding Competition. 

Taking first place in Utah and the United States earned Hansen the privilege of competing on the world ‘s top “welding stage” for a chance at being named the world’s best welder. 

Not only is it a talent competition in welding, it is also an endurance competition in the 18-hour competition where contestants weld steel, aluminum and stainless steel. Welding processes used include Flux-cored Arc Welding (FCAW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) and Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW).

According to Eastern’s associate professor of welding, Austin Welch, “The contest consists of four modules, and every contestant welds the same set of projects. Module I is comprised of five-test plates which are radiographed (x-rayed) and also destructively tested. 

“Module II is a pressure vessel which is visually inspected, and is also hydrostatically tested and must hold at least 1000 PSI for 10 minutes without any leaks.

“Module III and IV are both GTAW-exclusive sheet metal projects; module III is 5052 aluminum and module IV is 304 stainless steel.”

When Wyatt arrived in France, he had a few days of orientation and contest prep ahead of him. He started competing on Sunday, September 8. 

Welch said Hansen has been performing and scoring extremely well these past few months. “I spent some time with him this past weekend to give a few final words of encouragement. While he and I visited, reviewed his projects and brainstormed a few final contest strategies, it struck me that Wyatt’s abilities are truly exceptional among exceptional – I feel very confident that he’ll finish among the top contestants.”

 The United States hasn’t won a gold medal in the contest since 1999 – before Hansen was even born.

Welch added that Hansen is the 17th official U.S. welding contestant in the history of the WorldSkills competition. Participating countries are allowed a single contestant in the welding contest and this year’s WorldSkills welding contest features the best welders from 42 countries.

Hansen was selected as the official United States contestant in March 2024 by winning gold in the USA Weld Trials – a contest-based selection process where the contests took eight months of work to conclude. 

Since being selected, Hansen has been training with the U.S. expert for the competition – Chandler Vincent – for 12-16 hours a day, on average.

Vincent represented USU Eastern where he won the U.S. Invitational Weld Trials and represented the United States at the WorldSkills competition in Abu Dhabi in 2017. He continues to travel around the country and world in addition to partnering with the American Welding Society to assist the next batch of U.S. welders prepping for WorldSkills competition. 

At 20, Vincent makes his home in Vernal, owned his own business since he was 16, is a SkillsUSA welding champion and an advocate for young welders. He recently returned from Budapest providing specialized training to European student welders. 

Besides thanking Vincent for his help and encouragement, Hansen also owes his success to his high school instructors and Eastern welding instructors: Mason Winters, Jeremiah  Garcia, Jake Clement  and Welch.  His support team also includes his parents who supported him throughout his journey. 

He finished his college education at Eastern spring semester and spent the next five months preparing for the WorldSkills competition; seven days a week, often welding for 10 to 12 hours each day. 

This week his photo and story was featured on Welder, a national welding magazine with the headline: “Can Utah Welder win gold at WorldSkills?”