A Guide to Building a Successful Welding and Inspection Program

The welding and inspection industry are the cornerstone of the manufacturing sector, with a growing demand for skilled labor. Educational institutions play a critical role in preparing both students and career changers with the skills needed to enter and advance in the field.

With decades of experience in welding education and program leadership, Gordon Reynolds, a former senior director of trades programs and current AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) seminar instructor, shares best practices for planning, developing, and sustaining effective training programs.

1. Start with Local Industry Needs

A strong training program begins with a clear understanding of local workforce needs. Before developing curriculum or purchasing equipment, educators should connect directly with employers to understand what skills are actually in demand.

“The very first thing, in my opinion, is to build a strong advisory committee and find out what your local businesses need,” Reynolds said. “Because in the end, they’re the customers for your students, and your students are your product. If there aren’t jobs for them, it’s pointless to have a program. You train people for employment, for careers.”

This industry-first approach helps ensure that training aligns with real-world expectations and leads to meaningful employment opportunities for graduates.

2. Build the Programs with a Clear Plan

Successful programs are designed with growth in mind. Reynolds’ experience building a program from an empty facility highlights just how important that planning phase can be.

“I started the program from scratch,” he recalled. “They gave me a 10,000 square foot room and said, ‘Here, turn this into a welding program.’ There was nothing in there except for the smell of creosote from the linesman program that was previously in there.”

Within months, the program went from zero to 165 students and eventually expanded across multiple campuses. The takeaway is to start with a solid foundation, and plan for growth. Programs should be designed to adapt and scale as demand increases.

3. Prioritize Both Skill and Teaching Ability

Instructor quality can make or break a training program. One of the biggest challenges is finding individuals who not only understand welding, but also know how to teach it effectively.

“You have teachers, somebody who’s professionally trained, been through college, has their teaching certificate, but they don’t know how to weld,” Reynolds explained. “And on the other side, you have welders...that don’t know how to teach.”

Strong programs recognize this gap and work to close it from both directions. Reynolds suggests programs helping instructors build technical skills while also providing pedagogical training for industry professionals entering education.

4. Invest in Ongoing Instructor Training and Development

Maintaining program quality requires ongoing investment in instructors. Administrative support plays a key role here.

“One of the big problems I’ve seen over the years . . . the administrators, whether at the school or at the district level, don’t give the proper support. And I’m not just talking financial because obviously welding programs are expensive to run. But they also need to give the support for the instructors that may need to go get some additional training.”

Whether it’s professional development opportunities like the AWS Foundation’s Weld-Ed series or training from various schools or industry partners like Miller Electric, Lincoln Electric, and the Hobart Institute offers, giving instructors the chance to continue learning ultimately strengthens the program as a whole.

“If administrations saw the benefit that their instructors would get from it, I think they would be much more willing to support their instructors and send them to these workshops and classes,” Reynolds said.

5. Make Career Pathways Clear to Students and Families

For programs to thrive, students, and often their families, need to see a clear path from training to a stable, well-paying career. That connection doesn’t always happen automatically, so programs need to communicate it intentionally.

“You have to show the pathway from the classroom to meaningful employment, good jobs with good pay and good benefits,” Reynolds explained.

This is especially important at the high school level, where parents play a huge role in decision-making. When programs can demonstrate career opportunities, they not only attract students but build the trust needed to keep them engaged.

6. Bring School Counselors on Board

School counselors also play a major role in shaping student decisions, but they may not always understand the value of skilled trades careers.

“Counselors can quite often be the biggest enemy to enrollment because they’ll tell the kids, ‘Well, you don’t want to do welding. It’s dirty, it’s dangerous,’” Reynolds noted.

To change this, programs need to actively engage with counselors. Inviting counselors to visit training facilities, demonstrating modern equipment and processes, and sharing student success stories can help shift those perceptions.

When counselors better understand the opportunities available, they’re more likely to guide students toward them.

7. Use Hands-On Experience to Drive Interest

Exposure is one of the most effective ways to attract students. Giving them a chance to experience welding firsthand can spark interest.

Reynolds states how interactive demonstrations, career days, and lab visits can allow students to connect with the trade in a meaningful way. These experiences often serve as the first step toward long-term interest in welding careers.

“When I was teaching at the high school, they would have a career day in the spring . . . we would set up a booth, and I would always bring an oxyacetylene torch and a little portable booth, and we let the kids come down and play with fire, do a little bit of oxyacetylene welding under supervision with one or two of my advanced students and myself. That really seemed to capture their imaginations,” Reynolds said.

8. Prepare Students for Advancement, Not Just Placement

Training programs should go beyond immediate job placement and help students see a path for long-term growth. Encouraging students to pursue certifications expands their opportunities.

“You don’t want to be under a welding helmet for 40, 45 years,” Reynolds said. “You want to learn, you want to grow, you want to improve your earning potential . . . there’s so much more to this industry.”

Certifications such as the CWI can open doors to inspection, supervision, and higher-paying roles. For students pursuing inspection roles, understanding how to work with codes and standards is essential.

“What a lot of people don’t understand, especially when they first come into these seminars, is they’re not there to memorize the code book. They’re just there to learn how to navigate it,” Reynolds explained.

Programs should emphasize how to interpret codes, locate critical information, and apply requirements in real-world situations. Building these skills helps students succeed in certification exams and prepares them for advancement in the field.

9. Connect Training to Real-World Experience

Students benefit most when classroom instruction is tied directly to real-world applications. Instructors who bring firsthand industry experience into the classroom can offer practical insight and better prepare students for the expectations they will face on the job.

“I was very fortunate in my welding career before I began my career in education in that I had a wide variety of experiences as a welder,” Reynolds said.

He gained that experience by working in several different environments early in his career. While still in high school, he worked in a job shop, taking on smaller structural and specialty projects. After graduation, he joined a large fabricator, where he contributed to building nuclear power plants as well as large-scale structural work for multistory buildings. He also spent time working on heavy equipment such as rock crushers, gaining an appreciation for the demands of large, heavy fabrication. Later, in a sheet metal shop, Reynolds refined his gas tungsten arc welding skills, working with thin ferrous and nonferrous materials. Each of these roles added a different layer to his expertise, giving him a well-rounded perspective on the trade.

“I was able to bring that into the classroom and share my experiences with students and what it took to qualify in the various processes,” Reynolds said.

10. Set the Standard for Work Ethic and Continuous Learning

Technical skills alone are not enough. Employers consistently value reliability, attitude, and professionalism. Reynolds emphasized that this message comes through in conversations with industry partners.

“A longstanding point of conversation with members of my advisory committee . . . is ‘We want somebody that’s going to show up on time every day,’” Reynolds noted.

This remains one of the most common concerns among employers. Showing up on time and being dependable are traits that impact job performance. Training programs play a key role in helping students develop these habits early.

Programs should also reinforce continuous learning.

“The next thing is the desire to learn and to improve, Reynolds said. “Just because you get a Certified Welding Inspector certificate doesn’t mean you’ve reached the top of the hill. In fact, that’s just the beginning of the learning process.”

By emphasizing professionalism, accountability, and a willingness to keep learning, programs can better prepare graduates to grow and succeed over the long term.

Conclusion

Effective welding and inspection training programs are built on a combination of industry alignment, skilled instruction, and a focus on student outcomes. By implementing these best practices, educators can create programs that not only attract students but also prepare them for sustainable careers in the welding industry.

As Reynolds puts it, “You train people for employment, for careers.” Programs that keep this goal at the forefront will continue to meet the evolving needs of both students 
and industry.

ROLINE PASCAL (rpascal@aws.org) is the associate editor of  Inspection Trends.