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April 2026
Feature Articles
From Classroom to Career: Inside AWS's Train the Trainer
The Instructor’s Institute — an American Welding Society (AWS), Miami, Fla., annual event — is a unique professional development experience that allows one instructor from each AWS district to participate in an immersive, week-long program focused on instructional best practices.
see moreForging Confidence: Girls Who Weld
During the spring of 2022, I was a career and technical education (CTE) instructor taking a professional development class for continuing education credit. I was tasked with creating a project to augment our current program. It made me reflect on my own welding program, which served 100 students. I was looking through past years’ rosters and realized the dearth of girls in my classes.
see moreDesigning a Welding Program for Growth, Not Just Grades
At the start of my teaching career, I graded welds the way many welding instructors do — by the bucketful. At the end of each class period, I collected armloads of weld coupons, hauled them to my office, and spent hours sorting, evaluating, and entering scores in the gradebook. It was labor intensive, time consuming, and unsustainable, especially with large class sizes.
see moreSafety First: Best Practices for Handling Heavy Weldments
For new welders and welding students, the transition from learning how to run a straight bead to performing fit-up and fabrication work introduces a whole new set of challenges. Heavy weldments and oversized components require additional considerations before welding begins.
see moreInsights from Establishing a Welding Robotics Training Facility
The American welding industry faces a critical labor gap. According to AWS, 320,500 new welding professionals are projected to be needed in the United States by 2029 (Ref. 1). This gap affects manufacturers across the country, from rural operations to major industrial centers.
see moreWelding Changed My Life
Welding has the power to transform. It turns raw steel into bridges, ships, aircraft, and the infrastructure that supports whole communities. And just as welding can bring a city to life, it can also reshape individual lives.
see moreThe Importance of Professional Development for Welding Instructors
Through 2029, the United States will need an estimated 320,500 new welding professionals (Ref. 1). Welding is foundational to the U.S. economy.
see moreNews and Updates
Education 411
Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC), Canandaigua, N.Y., has taken welding training on the road across upstate New York, using portable simulation technology to meet high demand for welders.
see moreNews of the Industry
Since 1996, AWS has recognized April as National Welding Month to build awareness of the welding industry and the skilled professionals who keep it moving forward. In 2026, AWS marks the 30th anniversary of this nationwide observance under the theme “Celebrating Welding Since 1996.”
see moreSociety News
Explore AWS news, Tech Topics, Membership activities, and much more.
see morePublication Archive
View past issues of our magazines, including Welding Journal Research Supplement in PDF format.