Students Learn Safety, Life Skills, and Welding and Fabrication
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Launch the media gallery 1 player - media #6Welding & Fabrication at Indian Valley Vocational Center is a hands-on learning experience offered to junior and senior students. In the class, students are taught necessary welding and fabrication skills relevant to the field. The students gain classroom and shop experience, being taught everything from safety to life skills. Mr. Moody’s class is divided into first- and second-year students. First years learn the basics in a multitude of topics, and the second-year students hone their skills that they have learned before.
The first couple weeks of the school year are mostly focused on safety procedures and familiarizing the students with the tools of the trade. After that, first-year students will take an online ten hour class, called OSHA-10, in which they learn about workplace health and safety. Once the online class is completed, the students receive an OSHA-10 card, a field-recognized certification that substantiates the students as well-versed in workplace safety.
Throughout their first year in Mr. Moody’s class, students learn about many different welding processes such as Stick, MIG, TIG, torch cutting and gas welding. First-year students also learn about proper welding techniques, such as arc angles, amperages and fundamentals to ensure they create the best welds possible. First-year students are taught different welding positions from 1F-4F, which teaches them how to become comfortable and create consistent welds in different situations, such as vertical and overhead welding.
Mr. Moody’s class isn’t all just learning career and field-related skills, however. Throughout the year, students are able to create sculptures, ornaments, and other keepsakes to give to family and friends. First-year students create metal pumpkins in October, and steel roses in February.
Second-year students take what they have previously learned a step further as they learn how to weld aluminum and stainless steel with the TIG process. They also sharpen their stick welding skills by using more difficult rods, such as 6010 in an open root. Second-year students test their knowledge and skills by completing 1-6 G weld tests, also known as bend tests. The students challenge themselves in numerous welding processes by bending their completed welds and examining them for problems, diagnosing the defects, then learning what they must fix to create a perfect full penetration weld. The diversity between these projects helps the students to gain further insight in more specific areas of the welding field.
Mr. Moody’s students go on industry visits to shops and factories and workplaces in the surrounding area to get a sense of what a professional welding workplace looks like. The students also hear from guest speakers and alumni currently in the field, where they can ask questions regarding what it takes to be a successful welder.
All through the class, Mr. Moody teaches students life skills that are applicable to the field of welding. From the start of their tenure in class, students learn about work ethic, responsibility, teamwork, attitude, and self-management from Mr. Moody. He does this so the students not only leave the class ready to enter an increasingly competitive industry with the right skills, but the right mindset to succeed as well.