WHO SAYS YOU DON’T NEED WELD CERTS?
- 2. Hold Your Hands High, Elbows Low & Move Your Head
Bobby Pease: Alright, let’s talk Accredited Testing Facility. So, the Kentucky Welding Institute is absolutely an accredited testing facility and has been since its inception.
Ashley Applegate: Right. Now, AWS recognizes us to the stringent processes to become that ATF, that accredited testing facility. There’s a lot that goes into play, a lot that happens here. But basically, what it means, big picture wise, you receive wallet card certifications for those weld tests you pass at the Kentucky Welding Institute.
Bobby Pease: Now I’m confused, Ashley, because there’s a lot of schools out there that are calling their kids certified. And they hold up a piece of paper that looks like this.
Ashley Applegate: So, this says qualification, not certification. Hey, I can put a stamp on the on the bottom of this. And there we are, I can make you qualified right now. No matter what.
Bobby Pease: So, there we go. Look at that. Look at that. And some schools even have their logo up here. It’s not even from the American Welding Society, they’re not using the same document. Which is true of companies, you’ll have your own documentation. But you’re not certified unless it’s on the American Welding Society piece of paper here, done at an accredited testing facility, that paperwork sent down to Miami, Florida, and then sent back with a wallet card like this.
Ashley Applegate: And the next thing has to happen. It’s got to be in front of a certified welding inspector, a CWI. But that CWI cannot be your instructor. It’s got to be a third party, CWI. So, they can work at KWI but they may not certify on your shift. Maybe you certify for a different instructor on your shift. So, it does a lot of stuff for you, the student. Number one I’m getting, I am getting you ready for what it’s like to take a real weld test. But number two, I’m not the guy I’m used to. It’s not the guy that taught me how to feed or back feed, whatever you’re doing, it’s a different guy that I’m not used to. So, it got a little bit of nerves coming into that.
Bobby Pease: Yeah, absolutely. So again, you can get qualified from any other world school, probably any of any other ones who can just make these up, no big deal. Write a WPS or don’t. Testing in on a 3/8 bend test or 6G on schedule 80, whatever. And if they’re a CWI, they can throw a stamp on there and make it look official. But they’re not going to give you this card, they can’t give you this card and I wouldn’t put it on your resume if you’re if your instructors calling you certified and telling you that. But you don’t have an AWS certificate, certified welders’ card with a number on it, then I would caution you not to call yourself certified not to advertise yourself certified because technically, that’s not true.
Ashley Applegate: This has to come from AWS, hands down.
Bobby Pease: Yeah, and all our instructors are certified welders, matter of fact, they’re taking all the same weld tests that we require our students to take, is that correct?
after you graduate within three months, you report back to the schoolhouse 30 days of verifiable employment experience, we’ll send you free of charge this Heavy Hitters 250 AMP Tig-Rig.
Ashley Applegate: That’s right. And you don’t have to work one job for 30 days, you can work two, two-week outages but it is third party verified and that means a lot. The reward package, telling our students upfront, hey you start doing a good job from the get-go there’s some stuff coming your way. A lot of goodies. Big value on these as well.
Bobby Pease: Yeah, I think everything on the table is worth at least 150 bucks and then go north from there. So, everything is again and these are prizes going back to the students. So yeah, we’re rewarding hard work and these are not cheap items here. These are industry respective, awesome piece of gear that you’d want to take to the field with you.
Ashley Applegate: Yeah, that’s a good point. Well, I’m glad you brought that up. The job interview to work at KWI is to throw down. All the instructors have to pass those tests.
Bobby Pease: There you go. So, if you’re giving us a piece of paper, saying you’re qualified and then calling yourself certified again, watch out for that. If you want to be certified as a welder, then Kentucky Welding Institute is an accredited testing facility and we stand ready to help you get into this welding industry. Secondary educators have pushed college as the only avenue to success. Currently the average age of a welder is around 55 with less than 20% under the age of 35.
The American Welding Society (AWS) is warning us of a welder shortage of upwards of 375,000 by the year 2023. To get your skills sharp and make your resume marketable you need to research Pipe Welding Certification Programs. The comprehensive pipe welding certification package offered in KWI’s Certified Pipe Welding Program has the résumé building essentials that can help you launch your welding career. We have the trained professionals ready to start you from scratch or pick up where your previous training and experience left off, and take you to the next level. As an AWS Accredited Training Facility, KWI’s pipe welding training can certify you with our standard 6 certification packages. Being an ATF also enables KWI to test for outside contractors hiring welders, write new procedures as needed, and certify you to additional procedures like chrome, Inconel, copper nickel, super duplex, branch and bell hole or the fairly new RMD procedure. What other weld school does all that? If welding is a career that has your interest, KWI is the pipe welding certification school poised to help forge you into the successful certified combination pipe welder you aspire to be.
To watch this dialogue live, click the link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNAaegWeb9U&t=55s
