The Welding Technology program is a two-year program designed to help students gain basic welding, fabricating, math and problem-solving skills needed to qualify for entry-level employment or apprenticeship. Students work to complete the American Welding Society (AWS) Sense - Entry Level I Welder Qualification. Students will build a portfolio of projects and weld tests that will prepare them for success in a variety of employment settings.

About the program: 

• Successful Student Attributes: Basic mastery of science and math skills, can make safe decisions for self and others, can work independently or in a team, shows perseverance and good decision making skills on a regular basis, strong hand-eye coordination, has physical ability to maneuver materials and weld in a variety of settings for extended periods of time, ability to read and decipher graphic representations, strong symbolic memory abilities
• Career Opportunities: Welder/Fitter, Metal Fabricator, ARC Welder, Sheet Metal Worker, Welding Inspector
• Program Length: Two years (maybe eligible for AWS certification after second year)
• Industry Alignment: American Welding Society (AWS) Sense; Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
• Integrated Academic Coursework: Career and Financial Management (½ credit), Math (½ credit per year), Science (½ credit per year)
• Graduation Pathways: 4+1 Pathway Option: AWS – Sense Level 1 (Entry Welder), CDOS Pathway

Opportunities through the program:

• College Credit Opportunities: Articulation Agreements: Lincoln Technical Institute; Ohio Technical College; SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
• Credential Opportunities: AWS – Sense Level 1 certification; 10-hour OSHA Construction Industry Safety and Health Credential
• Program Achievement Opportunities: Technical endorsement on graduation diploma and/or National Technical Honor Society
• Industry Assessments: AWS – Sense Level 1 (Entry Welder)

Supplies/Samples:

• Program Supplies, Materials, Assessments Provided: Work boots, safety glasses, work gloves, welding jacket; 10-hour OSHA training certificate; AWS – Sense Level 1 certification
• Entry-level Occupational Reading Materials Lexile: 1200-1310, (https://ttac.gmu.edu/archive/telegram/article-1)
• 11th Grade Reading Level Sample Text: Oxy Fuel cutting, also called flame cutting or burning, is a process that uses the flame and oxygen from a cutting torch to cut ferrous metals. The flame is produced by burning a fuel gas mixed with pure oxygen. The flame heats the metal to be cut to the kindling temperature (a cherry-red color); then a stream of high-pressure pure oxygen is directed from the torch at the metal's surface. This causes the metal to instantaneously oxidize or burn away. The cutting process results in oxides that mix with molten iron and produce dross, which is blown from the cut by the jet of cutting oxygen. (NCCER Level 1 Welding, Year 1 textbook)
• Sample Vocabulary: acetylene cylinders, electrodes, helium spectrometer leak test, longitudinal cracks, fillet welds
• Sample Math Problem: Using a nibbler, cutter, or grinder, mechanically or manually prepare the edge of a ¼” to a ¾” thick carbon steel plate with a bevel angle of 22 ½ or 30 degrees. Criteria for acceptance: Bevel angle +/- 2 ½”. Bevel face smooth and uniform to 1/16”, root face +/- 1/32”.
• Sample Science Question: The presence of voids or empty spots in the weld metal is called ___. (a) porosity, (b) inclusion, (c) defect, (d) discontinuity.