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Gain a New Skill This Summer: Welding

May 24

This summer Richmond Community College is offering two short courses in welding for anyone looking to gain a new skill or advance his or her welding techniques.

The Basic/Intermediate Welding class that begins June 6 is for the beginner or intermediate welder. The Fabrication Course that begins June 3 will combine welding and machining techniques. Students will be making a lock box during this class.

“Welding is a part of just about everything, so when you learn to weld, you become employable by a variety of companies from manufacturing to agriculture to NASCAR,” lead welding instructorA Richmond Community College welding student works on a project in the welding lab housed in the Forte Building on Main Campus in Hamlet. The College will offer two short courses in welding this summer at Scotland High School. at RichmondCC Chris Cesaro said. “Maybe you’re not looking to make a career out of welding, but you just want to be able to fix or build things for your own personal use. The basic/intermediate welding class is perfect for the handyman or handywoman.”

Cesaro has seen an increased number of women in the welding program and finds women to be very good welders and very detail oriented.

“Welding is not just a man’s world,” Cesaro said. “Most employers are not going to care if you’re a man or woman. They just want a good welder with good techniques and safety practices. And the better the welder the better the pay.”

Welders can start out at $40,000 per year, but as a welder gains experience, the earning potential can double.

“If you like to travel or are adventurous, you can make $100,000 a year on welding jobs such as offshoring drilling or underwater welding,” Cesaro said. “But to be the best, you’ve got to start with the basics, which is why we offer these beginner and intermediate classes at RichmondCC.”

The two classes at RichmondCC this summer are offered through the College’s Workforce and Economic Development (WED) division. Welding instructor Ricky Freeman will be teaching both classes that will be offered at Scotland High School in Laurinburg.

The Basic/Intermediate Welding class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon from June 6 through Aug. 10, and the Fabrication Course will meet Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon from June 3 through July 8. Both classes will provide hands-on training in various welding techniques. To sign up, contact WED Programming Assistant Alicia Butler at (910) 410-1706 or ambutler979@richmondcc.edu.