By Shelby Ruud Jarman
About 300 miles southeast of Paris, where the world watched athletes compete during the 2024 Olympics, a global competition of similar skill levels recently took place — WorldSkills 2024. More than 1,400 competitors from around the world descended on Lyon to show off their abilities in carpentry, bricklaying, cooking and 60 other career skills.
Among them was Wyatt Hansen, a Utah State University Eastern student and one of just seven people who qualified at state and national levels to represent Team USA at this prestigious competition, often called the Olympics of vocational skills.
Hansen won the bronze medal for welding, placing him among the top welders in the world after facing off against 42 international competitors.
WorldSkills, unlike the Olympics, allows only one chance at glory — competitors are ineligible to return once they’ve participated.
“It’s less than a once-in-a-lifetime shot, and you have three days to make all that hard work either pay off or become a waste,” Hansen said.
Succeeding as Underdogs
Hansen’s achievement is even more remarkable considering the vast differences between the U.S. team and its competitors. In countries like China and Korea, vocational competitors often train in state-funded facilities, hand-picked at a young age and groomed for years in their respective skills.
“We’re up against very well-oiled, well-funded machines,” said Jake Clement, a USU Eastern professional practice instructor and welding coach. “It’s hard to garner the same kind of support here, so we go to great lengths to try and provide that support as much as possible through our college.”
The differences are not just about support for individual competitors because the culture around vocational skills is different outside the U.S. Other countries often bring delegations of dozens of competitors and even have alternates ready to compete at a moment’s notice. Like Olympic athletes, award winners in many countries are celebrated with cash prizes and some even have their mandatory military service waived. Spectators back in their home country watch eagerly and pay attention to medal counts.
WorldSkills does not get the same level of attention and emphasis in the U.S.
“I think there’s a bit of irony there because the Olympics doesn’t happen if there aren’t people like Wyatt in the world,” Clement said. “There’s no stadium for the Olympics if there’s no welding. There are no airplanes for you to travel around the world. There are no automobiles, no bridges, no infrastructure. The world, the way it is right now, doesn’t exist without welding technology and qualified individuals like Wyatt Hansen out there making it happen.”
“Fire In His Eyes”
Training for a competition like WorldSkills is not for the faint of heart. Wyatt spent much of the last 18 months in the shop, clocking in before dawn and staying until 10 p.m. or later, six to seven days a week. He gave up any social life. Days off were few and far between. While others his age were enjoying weekends with friends, parties and trips, Hansen’s life revolved around his training schedule.
In truth, his training began over four years ago — when he was a high school student inspired by past welding competitors.
“He had his eyes on the prize the entire time, from the moment I met him,” Clement said. “The first time I ever talked to him about this competition, he had the fire in his eyes. He had decided that this is what he wanted to do.”
His team of mentors — all USU Eastern instructors and former competitors themselves — worked closely with him to ensure he was prepared to perform his best. They observed him while welding, helped inspect his welds, pointed out areas that needed work and prepared his materials and supplies.
“It’s a lot easier for us to do our job if we have somebody like Wyatt, who’s got the ambition and the drive to make this happen, almost on their own,” Clement said. “And then we get to help provide some direction and support.”
As WorldSkills got closer and closer, Hansen’s intense training schedule amped up even more. He relocated to Vernal, Utah, to train under the mentorship of Chandler Vincent, a former USU Eastern student and WorldSkills competitor who placed fifth in 2017.
With each day of training in Vincent’s shop, Hansen sharpened his technique. But the real test came in the form of smaller competitions, where he could feel the pressure of the competitive arena. He traveled to Australia, Canada and Alabama, putting his abilities to the test ahead of the big event.
Competing on the world stage introduced unique challenges — long flights, jet lag, heightened nerves and unfamiliar equipment. But Wyatt knew these experiences were an essential part of becoming a world-class welder.
When asked if the long hours in the shop and tough travel days were worth it in the end, Hansen didn’t hesitate with his resounding affirmation.
“If you think about it, it’s an investment in yourself,” Hansen said. “If you look past the fact that it’s a competition, you have access to all the best welders in the United States. You have a ton of different people investing in you, material-wise and time-wise. You get a chance to better yourself for an entire year or longer. It’s a no-brainer for me. Why wouldn’t I do it?”
A Culture of Excellence
This isn’t the first time that USU Eastern has seen success at welding competitions. In fact, three of the last four welding contestants who qualified to represent the U.S. at WorldSkills came from USU Eastern. Two earned the bronze medal, one earned a Medallion of Excellence, and two earned the “Best of Nation” award, meaning their performance topped other team USA competitors across all categories of the competition.
“The most important thing is the level of passion that we have for welding at USU Eastern,” Clement said. “Every single instructor here is a product of this program. We have a lot of history. Having that competition be a part of our culture here really helps drive excellence for the program as a whole.”
All the competitors enter the workforce or start their own businesses, spreading quality welding practices throughout the industry. It creates a ripple effect: they pass on their expertise and mentor the next generation of welders, and the cycle of excellence continues.
While winning certainly boosts the institution’s reputation and attracts talented students, that’s not why they do it, says Austin Welch, associate professor at USU Eastern and the welding team’s coach. For Welch, the long hours and time away from family are driven by something deeper.
“The whole reason we do it is the impact that it has on individual students like Wyatt,” Welch said. “And my biggest priority when we start on this path of WorldSkills is that they feel like it was worth it when they are done. Win, lose or draw, my priority is to make sure that they make it through and they don’t have any regrets.”
Giving Back and Looking Forward
While Hansen’s WorldSkills journey is over, his impact on the welding community is just beginning.
“I want to give back to the next competitors,” Hansen said.
As the welding representative for Team USA, he will play a pivotal role in mentoring the country’s next competitor for WorldSkills 2026.
Hansen plans to begin welding engineering school next fall and dreams of starting his own welding business. Much of his ambition, he said, stems directly from these intense competitions.
“You go and train and compete, and you get this new level of drive, a new level of wanting to accomplish stuff,” he said. “You have a drive to achieve great things, and you have the confidence to back it up. My motto has always been, ‘Hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard,’ and I plan to continue to work hard.”
Wyatt’s bronze medal isn’t just a personal achievement — it’s part of a broader story of the USU Eastern welding program’s growing reputation on the world stage. The school has become a recognized powerhouse in competitions, and they have no plans to stop. Coaches and students already have their sights set on WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai.
But for now, they’re celebrating Hansen’s success.
“There’s no greater satisfaction out of this job than watching 16- or 17-year-old students who are really excited about welding follow through to Wyatt’s level,” Welch said. “He’s going to have the red carpet rolled out for him in the welding industry for the rest of his life, and he deserves it.”