Local manufacturing companies continue to partner up with high schools to find workers to fill the skilled labor shortage.

Although working in a male-dominated field could seem intimidating, Erie High School student Emma Johnson is taking that challenge head on.

Johnson is a junior at Erie High and is paving her way through the welding industry.

"It's not known for a female to do welding and it just made me want to do it more," Johnson said.

Out of 75 students who study welding at Erie High, Johnson is one of only three females in the program.

"I'm like the only girl in my shop right now," she said about her own class.

"It is a male dominated industry, there's no secret about that," said welding instructor Donna Bastian. "But the girls are doing a great job."

In fact, Johnson is excelling at her program and even landed a co-op position at Industrial Sales and Manufacturing.

This is through the Adopt-A-School program, an initiative to fill the skilled labor shortage.

"It's getting harder and harder to find qualified individuals to fill these spots," said workforce development at ISM Lori Dever.

An issue students like Johnson have no problem solving, even in a male-dominated field.

She is also working on becoming a certified diver which is another step she hopes will help her reach her goal as an underwater welder