Welding

Your Two-Year Welding Pathway

Each semester of your two-year commitment builds on the one before it, allowing students to develop stronger technical skills, greater independence, and professional workplace habits.

Semester 1 | Building the Foundation

Year One begins the two-year commitment and helps students turn an interest in welding and metalwork into real technical skills through classroom instruction, hands-on lab experiences, and real-world training. The morning program is open to rising 10th- and 11th-grade students who are prepared to complete both years.

Students focus on:

• Recognizing welding hazards and using required personal protective equipment
• Identifying common welding, cutting, measuring, and material-handling tools
• Setting up and operating oxyfuel and plasma arc cutting equipment
• Cleaning, cutting, beveling, and preparing base metal
• Identifying basic joint designs and preparing materials for fit-up

Semester 2 | Developing Welding Control

Students take on more challenging work as they set up shielded metal arc welding equipment, select electrodes, and develop control through beads, fillet welds, and groove welds in multiple positions. To advance to Year Two, students must demonstrate mastery of required skills and earn a grade of 75 or higher each quarter.

Students focus on:

• Setting up SMAW equipment and selecting the correct electrodes
• Striking and maintaining an arc while controlling angle, speed, and travel
• Creating stringer, weave, and overlapping beads
• Completing fillet welds in horizontal, vertical, and overhead positions
• Performing groove welds with backing while controlling fit-up and distortion

Semester 3 | Advancing Technical Skills

After completing Welding 1 and 2, students return for the afternoon session and the second year of their two-year commitment. They build on their Year One skills, interpret technical information, complete more advanced plate welding, and may become eligible for Work-Based Learning or co-op opportunities.

Students focus on:

• Reading welding symbols, dimensions, views, notes, and detail drawings
• Using drawings and specifications to plan fit-up and fabrication work
• Identifying metal properties and applying preheating and post-heating procedures
• Setting up GMAW and FCAW equipment, gases, transfer modes, and filler metals
• Completing multiple-pass fillet and open-root groove welds on plate

Semester 4 | Preparing for the Industry

Students complete the two-year program through advanced welding, fabrication, and quality-control projects. They work with greater independence while preparing for technical college, apprenticeships, industry certification, entry-level employment, and other opportunities in the welding industry.

Students focus on:

• Identifying weld imperfections and applying quality-control and testing methods
• Completing open-root SMAW plate welds in multiple positions
• Performing advanced pipe fit-up and open-root pipe welding techniques
• Setting up GTAW equipment and welding carbon steel, aluminum, or stainless materials
• Planning, completing, inspecting, and documenting advanced work with greater independence

Career Opportunities

Welding can lead to careers involving fabrication, construction, manufacturing, pipe systems, industrial maintenance, inspection, and technical leadership.

Local Work-Based Learning Partners

Local employers help eligible Year Two students connect classroom and lab instruction with professional welding and fabrication experiences. Students may be recommended for Work-Based Learning or co-op after demonstrating the technical skill, maturity, dependability, and academic standing needed to represent themselves, Enoree Career Center, and the sponsoring employer well.

Two-year commitment note: Welding is designed as one connected two-year experience, not two separate one-year choices. Year One builds the foundation students need for the advanced processes, certifications, greater independence, and possible Work-Based Learning opportunities available during Year Two. A student who leaves after Year One cannot be replaced by a new student entering Year Two. Accepting a spot should mean planning to complete both years. Following through on that commitment helps each student make the most of the opportunity while respecting the limited spot that could have been offered to another interested student.

Work-Based Learning note: Work-Based Learning placement is not guaranteed. When available and earned, these experiences may provide paid on-the-job training and may lead to full-time employment or tuition assistance. Completing the full two-year Welding program prepares students to compete for these opportunities while honoring the limited spot they accepted and the opportunity that could otherwise have gone to another interested student.

Graduation and college admission note: Students earn four high school credits each year and may earn up to eight credits by completing the full two-year program. These credits count as electives toward South Carolina high school graduation requirements, and one credit may fulfill the CATE/Foreign Language graduation requirement. Most four-year colleges do not accept career center courses as substitutes for foreign language courses required for college admission. Students should review admission requirements with their school counselor.