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Welding-education-and-training:the Challenge and the Reward.Solutions with Effective, Practical Advice
Welding-education-and-training Welding-education-and-training starts with an intention and is implemented by outlining a program and by realizing it with persistence. It cannot happen by itself and it should not be left only in the hands of instructors, however expert and encouraging. It means taking responsibility for preparing one's own future. Obtaining Welding-education means hearing classroom lectures, welding seminars and courses, learning by reading, memorizing and understanding principles and theory, and finally standing up to examinations intended to test the level of knowledge acquired by the student. Studies may include some practical welding sessions, but these are limited to giving a feeling for the process, for the physical effort involved and for the difficulty in obtaining satisfactory results.
Participating in Welding-education-and-training courses, on the contrary, means obtaining hands-on experience, being exposed to practical welding work under expert supervision and learning the techniques to be employed to operate successfully any given process. Examination may also include some basic welding principles but especially concentrates on performing a welding test. To succeed, the trainee must produce a test piece that will stand the nondestructive, metallographic and mechanical tests established for the level of certification involved. If you are serious with your self Welding-education-and-training plan you should acquire or refresh as soon as possible the basics of the trade from a professional source. The book Modern Welding Technology
The best preparation for Welding-education-and-training would be the one that ensures the highest degree of theoretical knowledge together with a good manual ability to perform at least a few of the possible different processes. However this is seldom achieved, possibly only by first class instructors who gained knowledge and experience through many years of practical work involving exposure both to principles and practice. Usually however the professions centering on Welding-education-and-training are divided between the blue collar experts who are respected and courted for their manual dexterity and skill, and the white collar experts who, despite their outstanding knowledge and theoretical preparation, may not know, in certain cases, how to hold a welding torch in their hand. Which one of the welding professions? There is generally ample space for both kinds of professions promoted by Welding-education-and-training. In the technical and professional circles an increasing concern is felt: there is a lack of competent people in this trade that, if persisting, may even impair the growth of economy. Apparently the schools dedicated to Welding-education-and-training do not succeed in narrowing the gap between demand and offer. It would not be appropriate to list the available welding jobs as a hierarchical ladder where the higher one has an edge over other perceived as less glamorous ones. Every job has its requirements as to preparation, accomplishments and responsibility. It is true that supervising positions command larger authority and possibly better rewards and annual income. Before committing to a definite job career through Welding-education-and-training, it would help to know what are the possible work employments available, but one should remember that every stage is important to gain experience, and useful in building a broader base for future tasks. A recommended reference that may help in deciding if and which of the welding related professions is indeed what one is ready to undertake and commit to is a paper by the U.S. Department of Labor. (Click to read). Activity description A Welder is the one who actually performs the act of manual or semi-automatic welding, either in a shop or outdoors in construction sites. Manual skill is an essential requirement, especially for out of position welding (that is when performing vertical or overhead welding) and when operating in cramped and uncomfortable space. Manual skill is gained and improved through good training and working under competent and helpful supervision. A Welding operator tends to welding machines which are fit for high production, generally in an industrial shop. Operators need more preparation in manipulating commands and controls while their manual skill from previous jobs, although helpful to provide them with better understanding, is not an essential requirement. An Underwater Welder-diver is a certified welder and also a
commercial diver.
See Underwater Welding. Other supplementary qualifications in weld preparation and in weld inspection may enlarge the scope of employment of the individual and increase his/her professional worth. A welding supervisor is someone who raised to this position after years of Welding-education-and-training and of practice as a welder. Besides providing leadership for the group of workers entrusted to his/her guide he/she should know the job better then the workers themselves, and be capable of showing through examples to follow and copy the right way of doing things. A welding inspector approves or rejects weldments performed by others. The physical work may be less demanding but the responsibility is much higher. An accomplished inspector should know by personal experience what it takes to do the right job, and hopefully should be able, as the supervisor, to correct and teach welders whenever fit. In the present state of development each one of the above tasks, beyond Welding-education-and-training, requires approval from some central authority as to the fitness of the person to perform the job. The formal way this is accomplished is by means of certification (that is a document) testifying the demonstrated qualifications (that is capabilities) of the individual, to specific requirements of applicable standards and documents. Certifications In the following, as an example, the Certifications provided by AWS will be described, with the purpose of identifying the fields of activity usually covered by specific professionals within the larger definition of employees engaged in a welding business. The American Welding Society administers such a certification program by establishing requirements, and entrusting the actual examinations to Accredited Testing Facilities. Other national and international Agencies provide similar recognition for the workforce of the geographic region they are committed to cover. In the UK certifications are carried out by TWI Certification Ltd. Click on TWI for more information. A Certified Welder holds an AWS Certificate (CW) that exhibits a proof that he/she passed an examination involving certain materials, processes, thickness range and techniques as required by the particular Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) significant for the job sought. Click on CW Certification. Manufacturing facilities using robots or automatic production lines rely on experts in automation or robotics for making the necessary adjustments also to the welding equipment employed, even if they are not the best qualified for this task. Management should understand that the designated operator should be given proper welding instructions adequate to the work being performed. A Certification recently created by AWS is dedicated to welders working on robotic or automatic welding machines: it offers participation in a seminar designed to supply all needed information and to prepare to an examination required to demonstrate proficiency. It is called CRAW (Certified Robotic Arc Welder). For more information click on CRAW Certification. Certification for Inspectors is administered according to ANSI/AWS QC1-96, Standard for Certification of Welding Inspectors. For more information click on QC1-96. AWS Certifications for Inspectors are articulated in three levels from the basic one, issued to Certified Associate Welding Inspectors (CAWI). The examination will be administered after the applicant participates in Welding Inspector Seminars that provide the preparation for performing the job. The Certificate (CAWI) permits one to gain experience by working in close association with an accomplished Certified Welding Inspector (CWI). In order to qualify for AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) the applicant should get ready for a thorough examination divided in three parts, by participating in Welding-education-and-training seminars conducted to provide the best possible preparation. Finally the Senior Certified Welding Inspector occupies a supervisory position after having attained an elevated degree of experience. He/she is requested to have been a CWI for six years and to have 15 years of experience. An AWS Certified Welding Educator (CWE) is an individual whose knowledge and experience qualifies him/her to provide Welding-education-and-training trough welder training and classroom instruction. Click on CWE Certification. Finally AWS provides a program for Certified Welding Fabricators: this will give an assessment of the Quality Assurance functions as implemented in any defined industrial setting. It is addressed to managers involved in obtaining approval for definite projects. Click on Certified Fabricators for more information. AWS NDE (nondestructive examination) Certification for personnel involved in examination of weldments provides independent testing and uniform criteria for evaluation of NDE proficiency. Click on NDE. AWS Certified Welding Engineer is an individual having the required Welding-education-and-training, experience and knowledge, and who passes the relevant examinations. This preparation demonstrates his/her capability of directing all activities required to ensure that welded fabrications entrusted to his/her responsibility meet all requirements of applicable codes and standards. Click on Certified Welding Engineer. The National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau publishes "An Explanation of Certified Welding" applicable to pipe work in accordance with the requirements of Section IX of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. Click on NCPWB. A list of helpful books for better Welding-education-and-training is available in a new page in this Site. It is reachable by clicking on Welding Books. It is like a comprehensive catalog on welding books, wherefrom any interested reader will be able to select those most apt to contribute to his/her own development and progress. One should remark that Welding-education-and-training is never finished and that there is always room for improvement. You are invited to click on the above page, to pick up a book at a time, to learn it thoroughly and then proceed to a new book. Remember: Welding-education-and-training is the only way to ensure a constant progress to your Welding Career. Journals Start with our Practical Welding Letter that you can get at no cost by Subscription. It is a monthly e-newsletter coming to you at no effort, with lot of information for your professional improvement.
The Welding Journal is the Reference publication for the whole profession. For more information click on AWS WJ. The World of Welding is a quarterly publication by HIWT. Click on HIWT Practical Welding Today is a bimonthly magazine devoted to providing practical information. Click on PWT. Welding Design and Fabrication. Click on WDF. Articles and Technical Publications... ...are available online from manufacturers and suppliers of welding related material and equipment. Through searches on the web you can find the items you are interested in, and then browse the commercial sites for information. Also AWS, ASM International, ASTM, TWI and other institutions publish articles and reports relative to different aspects of Welding-education-and-training: part of these publications are available on line at no cost to the general public. The distribution of some other information is however restricted to members or offered for sale. Schools We propose hereafter a short list of links to hubs of information on Welding-education-and-training schools. The list is submitted as a first reference and we cannot endorse or recommend the proposed addresses. Although we would like to provide real help to those looking for information on schools, our list may be grossly incomplete or biased. We are ready to add more names as they reach us, particularly from satisfied students. If you are looking for a school, we suggest that you copy and paste one by one the following addresses (URL) in your browser and look for the information you need.
Independent Institutions
Useful Link
Research Institutes A substantial list of institutes dealing with Welding Education and/or Research is listed with AWS. Click on AWS and then click under "Educational and Research". For reaching the site of the Argentinean Section 202 of AWS click on AS 202. How to keep up to date Once reached a certain degree of Welding-education-and-training one should remember that the job of learning is never completed. Every opportunity should be exploited to learn more on the job at hand, by looking at the documents, the specifications, by asking inspectors and competent people. It is strongly suggested to enlarge the scope of the preparation by enrolling, when possible, to courses on inspection and non destructive testing to gain deeper understanding of the requirements of the profession. It is recommended to visit exhibitions of welding equipment, to talk to manufacturers' representatives, and to look for opportunities to gain hands-on experience of new equipment as it is presented to the public. Also to participate in seminars and workshops as frequently as possible, and to ask questions to gain better understanding. There is never an end to the process of Welding-education-and-training, because it is always possible to improve one's preparation and to reach a higher position of reward and satisfaction. NEW RESOURCES
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