Trades - Apprenticeship in Welder Apprenticeship

The Welder Apprenticeship at Northwestern Polytechnic trains registered apprentices to join and cut metals in structures such as beams and pipes, and to create and assemble metal parts and components for construction and manufacturing projects. Coursework covers precision metal fabrication, use of testing and inspection equipment, reading blueprints, and applying different welding processes to a range of metals, material thicknesses, and joint types. The program combines employer-sponsored on-the-job training with three blocks of in-class technical instruction delivered on campus in Grande Prairie, each running eight weeks. Apprentices alternate periods of paid workplace employment with classroom instruction, progressing through all three technical periods and the required on-the-job hours before qualifying for Alberta's Welder journeyperson certification through Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training.