CWB introduces welding course to address industry needs
“WITH MORE TRAINEES, WE ARE GAINING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF PARTICIPANT NEEDS, AND WE CAN ADJUST THE PROGRAM ACCORDINGLY.” — Victor Andrisani, CWB Consulting Manager
With a national labour shortage predicted for the welding industry through 2028, new bonds need to be made within the industry. Connections between education and hands-on experience can surely help fuse together the needs of workers and employers alike.
The Canadian Welding Bureau has introduced a new course to solve these needs and unite the welding industry’s workforce with employers and skilled technicians. The CWB’s Automotive Repair Technician Welding Program allows employers to book in-shop welding training and certification testing for their workers to ensure the best and most up-to-date skills to serve the needs of the public.
The course itself begins with formal training administered through a PowerPoint presentation. This presentation provides students with education on welding safety, welding equipment, and processes related to the trade such as: steel/ aluminum welding basics, silicon bronze brazing, shielding gas types, and transfer modes of the GMAW process.
After the presentation, practical training begins. Students will learn how to operate welding machines, and how to operate them according to welding variables such as voltage and travel speed. Students will then be able to practice qualification specifications, and challenge qualification tests to receive credential certificates for each welding process.
Collision Repair recently reached out to the CWB Consulting manager Victor Andrisani to get insight on the importance of this program for the industry and the reason for its inception. According to Andrisani, the course was created, “in response to overwhelming feedback from the industry.” The needs addressed by the course provide the “highest quality repair, utilizing best practices, and ensuring that vehicles are safely and adequately repaired.” For students, “The goal of the program is to equip technicians with an additional set of skills, knowledge, and qualifications to fuel their career progression,” said Andrisani in an e-mail.
The program is offered on-site, and in-shop, offering collision repair businesses professional training in the comfort of their own workplaces. Revisions were made to the program in March 2022, updating the specifications of the course according to the skills levels of technicians. In turn, the program accounts for individual paths to success for its participants.
“With more trainees, we are gaining a better understanding of participant needs, and we can adjust the program accordingly,” says Andrisani.
To find out more about the course, interested parties can visit the CWB Consulting website at www.cwbgroup.org/autorepair or by calling their toll-free number: 1-800 844 6790 ext. 290
