Basic Pipe Welding

           
Wendy Walden:          Welcome the another addition on Momentum, where we share ideas on how you can gain and sustain momentum within your career, I'm Wendy Walden. Today I'm speaking with Jack Wilson, department head of our welding program at the Brashier Campus. Welcome Jack.

           
Jack Wilson:                 Glad to be here Wendy.

           
Wendy Walden:          Nice to see you. I know we recently collaborated on several projects and here we are again.

           
Jack Wilson:                  Yes we have.

           
Wendy Walden:          Now today you're going to talk to us about the basic welding as well as the advanced welding program.

           
Jack Wilson:                 Yes that is correct.

           
Wendy Walden:          A two wonderful programs by the way and Jack with all the economic development that is surrounding us particularly in the Upstate and many communities in fact around the country there is a growing need and demand for welders. And both in the residential as well as the construction industry. What are you're thoughts on that?

           
Jack Wilson:                 You're exactly right, I mean with all the construction going on in the upstate we can't meet the needs, of the welding needs in the community. You know we get phone calls daily, people wanting qualified welders for local construction jobs for local fabrication, for industry. We need welders that will travel for the major construction companies and we just cannot meet the needs that's out there for qualified welders.

           
Wendy Walden:          Wow, well tell us about the basic welding program.

           
Jack Wilson:               The basic welding program is a great program because it's set up for people that wants to come in and learn, one thing to see if they like welding, and they touch on the ox fuel welding, they touch on the stick welding, tig welding, and mig welding. So they get a taste of all of it and it might, they might see that they're more interested in one area than the other one.

           
Wendy Walden:           Got you.

           
Jack Wilson:                And this is good for people that have a welding machine at home that want to do home projects because it shows them the safe way of welding and how to use their equipment. This is good for people getting started that if they like it then they can pursue it and go on the advanced welding.

           
Wendy Walden:          Very good.

           
Jack Wilson:                So it is a great program.

           
Wendy Walden:           What is the length of the basic welding program?

           
Jack Wilson:                It's 48 hours.

           
Wendy Walden:           Okay, and how is that divided? Is it just two days a week? Is it a couple of hours a day over a two week period? How is that schedule set up?

           
Jack Wilson:                It's set up on a Tuesday and Thursday evenings, it goes from 6:00 to 9:00 at night.

           
Wendy Walden:           Very good. So it's great for somebody that's perhaps working during the day and wants to come and explore if welding is a career option for them or if this is something they just want to do for a hobby. This is wonderful. What are the prerequisites to joining the program?

           
Jack Wilson:               On the basic welding, there's no prerequisites. If you want to learn welding, learn the basics of welding we'll enroll you and you can get started, you know come December.

           
Wendy Walden:         Great, now is that the next scheduled program date, December? December and that is just continuous, every few months, every few weeks, you start a new program?

           
Jack Wilson:               Yes. It goes year round.