Industrial Welding

The future for welding careers looks bright. Certified, skilled welders continue to be in demand in the construction industry and in all petroleum-related, mining and heavy equipment industries.  Graduates of AVTEC's Industrial Welding Program hold good jobs in a wide variety of working settings.  In short, Alaskan employers are always looking for highly trained weldersespecially for those who are willing to work under occasionally adverse conditions.   Certified pipe welders continue to be in demand in the petroleum industry.  Pipes are used to transport commodities in Alaska and they are also used to build structures.  The different applications of pipe afford pipe welders the opportunity to apply their skills in a variety of work settings.  With the Alaska Gas Pipeline on the horizon, trained welders will be in even greater demand.  The Industrial Welding Program emphasizes steel welding; however, all students are expected to become knowledgeable of procedures for welding on nonferrous materials such as aluminum.  Primary focus is on stick electrode welding:  students train on SMAW (stick electrode), GMAW and FCAW (wire feed processes), GTAW (TIG), plasma arc and air arc cutting, oxyacetylene welding, and cutting machines.  Destructive tests are performed on groove welds in both the stick and wire feed processes.  An introduction to Non-Destructive testing is an integral part of the program.  The AVTEC Welding shops are equipped with state of the art cutting and welding equipment, including computerized plasma cutting machines for plate and pipe.