FEATURE ARTICLE BUILDING PATHWAYS IN WELDING TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

Transcription

1 FEATURE ARTICLE BUILDING PATHWAYS IN WELDING TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION 12 CWA JOURNAL

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3 A constant challenge in the welding education field in Canada is to educate the many great potential candidates, and those who influence their educational choices, on the depth and breadth of career opportunities that are available in this industry. The word welding immediately conjures up the stereotypical image of a hot dirty shop full of welding fume and flying sparks to many people. Very few are even vaguely aware of the potential careers such as an engineering technologist programming a robotic laser welding system for an aerospace component, an inspector evaluating a critical component in a nuclear reactor using ultrasonic testing, or a technical specialist specifying the optimal micro-alloyed consumables and welding process parameters for a new ice-breaker being constructed from quench and tempered steel. Many people enter into the welding field with the only goal of getting a welding ticket and finding quick access to a job as a production welder. To accomplish this most students are looking for the shortest route and apply only to programs such as a 1-year certificate (e.g., Welding Techniques). Increasingly the colleges are finding out that these students may have already graduated from, or at least attended, previous post-secondary education at the university level. Others are mature adults looking for a career change, and the rest are coming directly from secondary school or transferring from other college programs. Most of the students entering the field are completely unaware of the growing need in our industry for technical problem solvers, metal fabricators and fitters, welding supervisors, welding inspection and quality assurance personnel, robotic programmers, and all of the other potential careers beyond the hands-on arcs and sparks. programs, that students would then be motivated and equipped to find a career path that best suits their capabilities and interests. To accomplish this in 2013 the college under-took a complete overhaul of the curriculum in four post-secondary welding programs with the goal of aligning the first year welding technology and hands-on skills focused courses. For the welding engineering technology programs this meant front-end loading the program with more of the practical applications based courses and moving the more technical, mathematics/ applied science based, and theoretical aspects of welding technology into the final two years of the program. These programs are also linked to the industrial metal trade apprenticeships Welder and Metal Fabricator (Fitter) through the use of a common curriculum at the introductory level. Advanced standing into welding engineering technology programs can be provided to apprentices, journeypersons, or graduates of welding certificate/ diploma programs from other Canadian colleges through a credit transfer process. With this common curriculum there is also an opportunity for Conestoga students to challenge exemption tests for the in-school portion of either trade allowing them advanced standing in an apprenticeship. The philosophy is that even a welding engineering technologist who goes into technical sales, robotic integration, or inspection field will have a solid foundation in, and appreciation of, the hands-on art and skill that is so intrinsic to the successful application of welding technology. The curriculum overlaps between post-secondary trades, apprenticeships, and engineering technology are illustrated in Figure 1. These new established program pathways are illustrated graphically in Figure 2. Conestoga College in Cambridge, Ontario has taken the approach that if all welding students are exposed to the full spectrum of these opportunities, and provided seamless pathways between the trades/skills based programs and the welding engineering technology 14 CWA JOURNAL

4 Left - Welding Engineering Technology students programming an arc-welding robot in Conestoga s Welding Automation Laboratory Bottom left - Welding Engineering Technology students using ultrasonic examination to inspect groove-welds in Conestoga s Metallurgy/NDE Laboratory Bottom right - Welding & Fabrication Technician student checking the fit-up of a welded test project in Conestoga s Metal Fabrication Shop FIGURES Post-secondary Welding Program Curriculum Overlaps Post-secondary Welding Program Pathways 15

5 The four post-secondary welding options are briefly described here: WELDING TECHNIQUES is a 30-week (1-year certificate) pre-employment program where welding technology fundamentals are introduced and a foundation of welding & fabrication skills are established. This program also serves as the welding boot-camp for students advancing into Welding Engineering Technology or the Welding Fabrication Technician programs. Since the Ontario Welder (437A) and Metal Fabricator [Fitter] (456A) common level one curriculum is followed there are opportunities for graduates of the Welding Techniques program to enter either of these trades with advanced standing using theory exemption testing by the Ontario Ministry of Training Colleges & Universities. Students are also offered an opportunity to challenge welder qualification tests at the college s CWB Test centre and there is an established pathway into the two and three year welding programs (see below). Welding process training for all students includes GMAW, MCAW, FCAW, SMAW, GTAW along with thermal cutting and an introduction to metal fabrication. WELDING & FABRICATION TECHNICIAN is a 60-week (2-year diploma) program where in addition to the Welding Techniques curriculum the second year advances the student as a metal fabrication specialist. Courses in this program closely model the in-school content of the Metal Fabricator (Fitter) trade in areas such as layout & pattern making, estimating, project planning, CAD/CAM, fabrication machine operations, and fitting. Welding skills are also advanced in the second year of the program with open root welding skills leading to all-position pipe and more opportunities for welder qualification testing. Many of the graduates from this program also seek apprenticeships in a variety of construction trades including boilermaker, steamfitter, millwright, and ironworker. 16 CWA JOURNAL

6 WELDING ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY INSPECTION is a 90-week (3-year advanced diploma) program with an optional co-op design that allows up to 16-months of registered work terms (extending the length to 4-years). This program shares the first year basics with the other post-secondary welding programs and also the second year with the Manufacturing Engineering Technology Welding & Robotics program. In the second common year of engineering technology there is a strong emphasis on the fundamental science and technology aspects of the field including welding metallurgy, procedure development and weld testing, specialized processes, robotics & automation, visual weld inspection, and technical mathematics. In the final year of the program students are taught welding design, non-destructive testing (MT, PT, RT, and UT), and supporting courses such as operations management and quality assurance. Students are also prepared to challenge the CSAW178.2 Level one test for visual inspection. A key aspect of the final year is the Technical Project where students design, manage, and implement an independent study project related to the field. MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY WELDING & ROBOTICS is a 90-week (3-year advanced diploma) program with an optional co-op design that allows up to 16-months of registered work terms (extending the length to 4-years). This program also shares the first year basics with the other post-secondary welding programs and also the second year with the Welding Engineering Technology Inspection program. All of these welding engineering technology students share key courses such as welding metallurgy, welding design, visual weld inspection, and welding process theory & laboratories. In the final year students in this program take several courses specific to welding automation including robotic weld programming, off-line programing, CAD/CAM, PLCs, and hydraulics & pneumatics. These students also complete an independent Technical Project in their final year. 17

7 With these four post-secondary programs, and including the apprenticeship delivery for the Metal Fabricator (Fitter) and Welder trades, Conestoga now has over 250 full-time welding students at the new Cambridge (Ontario) Campus. Many graduates from the 1-year Welding Techniques program apply for any available advanced standing seats in the Welding & Fabrication Technician or one of the two Welding Engineering Technology programs (i.e., Inspection or Welding Robotics), and their acceptance is contingent upon good academic performance. The end result of this approach has started to be realized as students now have the ability to seek out the welding program that best fits their career aspirations and academic interest, and there are clear pathways for progression from one program to the next. The ongoing excellent graduate employment rates and starting salaries of welding and fabrication technology students are indicative of the strong need for these trained individuals at all levels in the welding industry. CJ Jim Galloway B.A.Sc, CET Professor, Coordinator of Welding Technology Programs Conestoga College About the author Jim Galloway, B.A.Sc., C.E.T. is a Professor and Coordinator of Welding Technology Programs at Conestoga. He is a Certified Engineering Technologist, a Level II Welding Inspector (CSA-W178.2), an International Welding Technologist (I.W.T.), and he holds a Welding Red-Seal trade qualification. Over his 34 year career he has worked as a welding inspector and R&D technologist in the power generation industry, a technical manager in the rail-car manufacturing industry, and the manufacturing manager for a production machinery manufacturer. He volunteers on two CSA technical committees (CSA W48 Filler Metals and CSA W117.2 Welding Safety). Conestoga is a member of Polytechnics Canada and offers a broad range of education and training options includes graduate certificates, 4-year degrees, diplomas, and apprenticeships. Conestoga is the first college in Ontario and only second Institute of Technology in Canada to have an engineering degree (Mechanical Systems Engineering) program accredited by Engineers Canada following a review by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). The welding/fabrication trades and engineering technology programs are taught at a new campus just off of Highway 401 in Cambridge Ontario. Conestoga has been teaching Welder-Fitters since 1968, Welding Technicians since 1972, and Welding Engineering Technologists since Conestoga also hosts the welding laboratory activities for undergraduate students enrolled in welding engineering courses at the nearby University of Waterloo. 18 CWA JOURNAL