Is it just me?

Hire him. Persistence is a virtue. Actually in the early 90s I was scheduled for a night welding course at our local Tech College. Was $600 for 148 hr 6 week course from a master welder showing every thing from thin metal tig to underwater arc. I had to withdraw due to my last child born in that time frame. The course was never offered again. And classes separately would have ran into the thousands.

I think of that blown opportunity to this day when dragging my car to my welder guy.☹️