Okanagan College will host government-funded welding program this summer

Welders wanted.

That’s the message the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Canada union would like to express to those who are looking to improve their welding skills. Kelowna’s Okanagan College campus will host a training program this summer that will be fully funded by the Government of Canada.

“Most of the people who will want to do the class already can weld,” Boilermakers international representative Richard MacIntosh says. “They may have structural welding tickets. They may be what’s called a B pressure welder in B.C., and they need to get their pressure A ticket. They could be journeypersons, or they could be apprentices, too.”

The Filling the Gap Advanced Pressure Welder Training Program will be held from July 4 to Aug. 31, offering nine weeks of daily hands-on training with highly qualified instructors. There are six weld qualifications, based on provincial jurisdiction, available to those who take part in the program.

There will also be opportunities to earn safety tickets like fall protection, confined space and basic safety training.

MacIntosh says there are many jobs available for welders of all kinds. The Boilermakers union has welders at LNG Canada, Site C, Trans Mountain and the shipyards in B.C., at nuclear power plants in Ontario, at refineries and upgraders in Alberta, and at mines in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“There’s opportunities, and if somebody really wanted to go travel and work in another part of the country, we can help people do that, too,” MacIntosh says. “The country is booming. It really is.”

Canadian Welding Bureau, the Boilermakers and the federal government all got together to produce the training program, which will include theory exercises.

“So if we get these guys and gals with their tickets, we can put them into the Boilermakers union and then, in turn, use them to fill job orders and give them career opportunities,” MacIntosh says. “So we’re helping our employers and helping out people.”

Financial assistance is also provided to eligible participants for the duration of the program.

To learn more about or to register for the program, visit its website here.

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