Welder Apprenticeship

Admission Requirements

• Alberta Apprenticeship & Industry Training - ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

• Find a suitable employer who is willing to hire and train an apprentice (*please refer to MyTradesecrets for more details)

Application Procedure: Create/Access your MyTradesecrets (MTS) account and follow the Alberta Apprenticeship & Industry Training Application Procedure.

1. You are now able to register online for your next training period through your MyTradesecrets account.

   OR Complete an Enrolment Form for Apprenticeship Technical Training.

2. Submit your online registration or your Enrolment Form and full payment of $1,311.71 to Olds College.

Tuition & Fees

• Tuition & Fees: $1,312 / Books & Supplies: $320

Please refer to the current Fee Schedule for complete details.

Course Details

Alberta Apprenticeship & Industry Training – Welder

Program Page  Course Outline

• First Period Training Topics include: workplace safety and tools; oxyacetylene cutting; plasma arc cutting and gouging; welding technology fundamentals and properties of metals; wire feed welding, gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), metal-cored arc welding (MCAW), and submerged arc welding (SAW); and trade math.

• Second Period Training Topics include: shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) I and II; gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW); and pattern development and estimating.

• Third Period Training Topics include: SMAW III; welds on mild steel plate and pipe; drawing interpretation; and trade science (testing, metallurgy, codes).

Career Opportunities

Welders are employed in a variety of industries including vessel or structural steel assembly, pipeline construction, commercial construction, industrial construction, steel fabrication and heavy equipment repair. Employment prospects for welders change with seasonal and economic climates and can vary greatly with geographic location.

Visit ALIS to find Occupational Profiles with current wages, industry trends and more!

ALIS Occupational Profiles

Admitted Student Information

Program Dates

Find out when your term start and end dates are, so that you know when you are expected to be in attendance. For more information, please review the Program Dates & Fee Schedule.

Class Registration

You will be registered into your classes automatically. This will happen approximately 1 month prior to the start-date for your program. You will be notified once you have been timetabled into your courses. You will be able to see your class schedule in your My Olds College account. If you need to make any changes to your class registration, please contact the Office of the Registrar.

Technology Recommendation

It is strongly recommended that you come to Olds College with the following technology:

• A device capable of running Microsoft Office, preferably a laptop

As part of your student accounts, all students have access to Office 365 for the duration of their time with Olds College. To access this you just need to follow these steps:

• Go to portal.office.com
• Enter your Olds College email address and password
• Once logged in there is a button on the right that says "Install Office Apps"

This will give you access to the full Office suite on your computer, for both Windows and Mac based platforms.

Materials & Supplies:

The following items are required:

• CSA approved steel toe boots
• CSA approved safety glasses
• Hearing Protection
• Coveralls (two pairs)

Other Important Information: 

• Safety Regulations: Wearing safety equipment and abiding by industry safety standards is mandatory within our program.

• Apprenticeship ILM: We use the Apprenticeship ILMs (Individual Learning Modules) as our reference material. These modules take the place of textbooks and are available at the Olds College Campus Store at 1.800.661.6537 or 403.556.4630. They are packaged by technical training period.

• Employment Insurance: Information on applying for Employment Insurance benefits is provided in your MyTradesecrets account