Short course in basic welding offers not-so-basic opportunities!

Monday, 3 June 2019

Short courses are not to be disregarded as only relevant for hobbyists. In particular Wodonga TAFE’s welding courses, run at various times throughout the year, are certainly skill based training opportunities that can be useful for those wanting to get a job or start their own business.

Our basic welding short course is for absolute beginners with no prior welding knowledge or skills. It begins with extensive theoretical knowledge building and is followed with hands-on tasks completed in the classroom to help develop that knowledge into practical skills.

Students are taught the differences of welding techniques including, gas tungsten arc, manual metal arc, gas metal arc and oxy acetylene. These are everyday practices that are utilised in the welding profession.

Local student Agnes McAuliffe, recently undertook the Basic Welding short course due to having recently had a shed collapse on her family farm from strong winds. From that catastrophe, she developed a desire to learn how to fix issues such as this and others that should arise in the general upkeep of farming work. She and her siblings all enrolled into the course and began developing the skills that would enable them to perform maintenance around the farm such as fencing and mending of their sheds.

“The best part of studying welding is learning new skills that are practical and useful in your everyday life and work,” Agnes explains.

“Once you have learned the basics of welding, there are so many opportunities that open up to you just for having gained those in-demand skills, my siblings and I are actually looking to start up our own business and take on welding clients.”

“The course offers a great opportunity for networking because people who are looking for welders contact the TAFE, who then pass that information onto the students. I already got some work out of it as well.”

Many people choose to utilise the basic welding course for their own needs around their farms or homes, however it is suitable to anyone looking to learn a new skill that will help them become more employable also.

The basic welding course is run in the evenings, so those who have a day job needn’t take time off to complete it and is scheduled as one class per week, for 16 weeks.

Our next intake for the Basic Welding short course starts July 16 and finishes November 12 at 6pm – 10pm on Tuesday evenings.

If you would like to enrol or for more information on our welding course opportunities, please visit our website www.wodongatafe.edu.au or call customer service on 1300 698 233

You can also check out the video with Agnes below.