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If you enjoy building and have the patience to concentrate on detailed work, you'll want to fuse your interests together and train for an in-demand career in the Welder – Wire Process Operator Apprenticeship program.
See the Courses tab below for details on program delivery.
- All of our services to students remain available virtually.
- See the minimum technology requirements required to participate in online elements of this program.
- Visit our Student Awards and Financial Aid page for information about COVID-related supports and Lethbridge College's own emergency funding for students.
Overview
You won’t be stuck behind a desk when you get involved in a Welder – Wire Process Operator Apprenticeship. You’ll build a solid career that can take you to a variety of industries and a variety of environments. From outdoor construction sites to indoor jobs in production and repair shops, the Welder – Wire Process Operator Apprenticeship prepares you for it all, splitting your time between the job and the classroom.
You’ll spend about 80 per cent of your time learning on the job with a qualified welder, honing your craft on actual projects. For the remaining 20 per cent, you’ll be in the classroom developing essential theory and knowledge, and in our state-of-the-art shops using the latest industry equipment to gain new skills.
Train for an in-demand career and apply to the Welder – Wire Process Operator Apprenticeship today!
Career opportunities
As a welder, you’ll find yourself in demand in a variety of capacities. When you complete your apprenticeship, you’ll be ready to work in:
- vessel or structural steel assembly
- commercial construction
- steel fabrication
- heavy equipment repair
- pipeline construction
- industrial construction
At-a-Glance
Courses
A blended course is intentionally designed to include continuum of both face to face/on-campus and online delivery. This includes both synchronous (in real-time on a set schedule) and asynchronous learning strategies (learning that does not occur at the same time or same place). Communication, instruction and assessment components of a blended course provide consistent information but go further by enhancing and supplementing each other. Students may complete some of their lessons online and may also be required to come to campus.
Learning does not occur at the same time or same place. Instructor provides materials including online readings, recorded lectures or presentations, posted lecture notes, video content, assignments and exams for online completion. Students access the course materials within a flexible timeframe prescribed by the instructor.
Learning happens in real time. Student and instructors interact and engage with each other in a specific virtual space, through a specific online medium, at a specific time. This can include video conferencing, live chatting, and live-streaming lectures.
Apprenticeship programs require eight to 12 weeks of classroom training each year in addition to on-the-job training.
Courses include:
- Trade mathematics
- Safety and tools
- Pattern development and drawing interpretation
- Trade science
- GMAW (gas metal arc welding), FCAW (flux-cored metal arc welding), SMAW (shielded metal arc welding) and GTAW (gas tungsten arc welding)
- Oxy-acetylene cutting and plasma cutting
View the full course outline for the Welder – Wire Process Operator Apprenticeship.
Admissions
Academic requirements
- Successful completion of English 10-2 and Math 10-3, or a pass mark in all Canadian General Educational Development (GED) tests, or entrance exam.
- English 30-2, Math 30-3, Physics 20 or Chemistry 20 or Science 20 and related career and technology studies recommended.
Please note: You must be a registered apprentice to apply for this program. Information on how to become a registered apprentice is available on the Alberta Government's website.
Additional information on apprenticeship and industry training is available on Alberta's Tradesecrets website.
Admission
You can apply for apprenticeship and industry training through MyTradesecrets.
Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board
Provincial Building, Room 280
200 - 5th Avenue South
Lethbridge AB T1J 4C7
Telephone: 1-800-248-4823
Outside of North America: 1-403-476-9757
Fax: 403-381-5795
Ask about the Alberta Apprenticeship Scholarship Program. You might discover you’re eligible for a financial award!
Your Investment
| Academic Year | Tuition | Fees | Books & Supplies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $784.00 | $141.25 | $197.65 |
| Year 2 | $784.00 | $141.25 | $66.00 |
| Year 3 | $784.00 | $141.25 | $72.80 |
Our Budget Wizard is a free self-service tool that can help you make sense of your finances and the cost of your education. Give it a try!
- Costs are estimates only.
Notables
Investing in your future
When local businesses need skilled workers, they look to Lethbridge College. Many of the tradespeople building homes, businesses and even our new trades and technologies facility have learned their craft right here. And those individuals continue to support our students long after they graduate. Which means, as the next generation, you benefit from:
- state-of-the-art facilities
- the latest industry-standard tools
- available scholarships
Hands-on, immersive training
Reshaping the college landscape, redefining your education
Train for your career in the largest construction project in college history.
Reshaping the college landscape, redefining your education
Our new Trades, Technologies and Innovation Facility positions Lethbridge College as the institution for trades training in southern Alberta by bringing together students, faculty and industry to create a vibrant, responsive learning environment.
The facility is the single most important capital investment for trades and technologies in southern Alberta in over 50 years. It’s also the largest construction project in the college’s history. It has increased our capacity to train the next generation of skilled tradespeople, engineers and interior designers. And it’s revolutionized our curriculum, bringing together students, faculty and industry partners in a modern, environmentally-sensitive space that features:
- modern labs, apprentice shops, tool rooms, classrooms, meeting rooms and offices
- more than 200 solar tubes to provide natural light to the workshops and classrooms and to reduce emergency costs (cool fact: the electric lights in the building are programmed to dim or increase based on how much light is coming in naturally)
- 60 welding booths set up for students to learn five different welding processes
- rooms housing wind turbine components to train on
- a design studio and extensive materials library
- a multi-purpose lab that provides students with learning opportunities for fluid mechanics and surveying applications
- a dedicated 3D printing room
- collaborative spaces to incubate the great ideas of tomorrow
This state-of-the-art facility wouldn’t have been possible without the ongoing support of our industry partners, donors, alumni and friends. And they delivered, investing in the workforce of tomorrow, investing in you.
