Career Description
Skilled welding, soldering, and brazing workers generally plan work from drawings or specifications, or they use their knowledge of fluxes and base metals to analyze the parts to be joined. Highly skilled welders work with a wide variety of materials in addition to steel, such as titanium, aluminum, or plastics.
Program Information
Students in the Manufacturing Welding Technician Diploma Program will earn credits at both the Brainerd and Staples campuses. Courses in blueprint reading, shop mathematics, and mechanical drawing are among the essential requirements for obtaining skills sought by employers. Central Lakes College offers a comprehensive foundation to get you started as a technician suited to work in any industrial plant where precision, efficiency, and safety are valued. Instruction takes place in a well-equipped shop for a hands-on, practical experience.
Program Learning Outcomes
Identify proper techniques for design and manufacture of weldments.
Prepare prints and drawings for use in a production setting.
Solve manufacturing procedures to produce welding fixtures.
Program computer numerical control (CNC) machines to industry standards.
Given a machine part, inspect to print standards.
Select material according to print specifications.
Accreditation
The Machine Tool Technology Program at CLC received official designation as a National Institute for Metalworking Skills Accredited Training in 2002.
Certification
Job opportunities and advancement can be enhanced be becoming certified in a particular machining skill. The National Institute for Metalworking Skills has developed standards for machine setters, operators, and metal tenders. After taking a course approved by the organization and passing a written exam and performance requirement, the worker is issued a credential that signifies competence in a specific machining operation.
Employment Opportunities
Job prospects should be excellent over the next ten years as employers report difficulty finding enough qualified people. In addition, many openings are expected to arise as a large number of workers retire over the next decade. The construction industry is expected to have solid growth over the next decade and an increasing demand for welders. Government funding for shipbuilding as well as for infrastructure repairs and improvements are expected to generate additional welding jobs.
Manufacturing Maintenance Techinian, Diploma - Program Planning Form (PDF)
