The Northern Wyoming Community College District has announced a new certificate program that targets working adults.
The Weekend Welding Certificate is aimed at adults who want to gain welding skills. Classes will be held on Fridays and Saturdays to accommodate schedules as much as possible.
"In addition to gaining an overall understanding of welding machines, processes, and hands-on proficiency, students will develop skills in the areas of print reading, welding symbols, welding inspection and destructive and non-destructive testing. In addition, they will gain important knowledge and skills necessary to prepare them for welding qualification," reads a press release from the district.
District President Walter Tribley said the course is a part of Wyoming Works, a statewide grant program which helps non-traditional students gain vocational skills.
"Students that qualify fully can get up to 12 credits paid for; $1,668 covers 12 credits. The welding program has some additional fees, but this gets you almost all the way covered," he said.
Students may also qualify for other scholarships, according to the district.
The program will be available at the district's Sheridan and Gillette campuses and will take one year to complete.
Tribley said the certificate program can also count towards an associate's degree.
"If they want to go back, they are taking all those courses that will count towards a degree. They will need to complement it with some of the other courses that we add in subjects like social sciences, mathematics and certainly the humanities that round out a college education," he said.
Tribley said he encourages those who haven't considered college before to think about joining the program.
"I want to welcome them to take that step, whether it takes courage, time or money, I want them to seriously consider investing in themselves," he said.
The district will be hosting informational sessions at both campuses this month. One will be held on Friday, Jan. 24 at Sheridan College's Whitney Academic Center at 5:30 p.m. The following session will take place at the Technical Education Center at Gillette College on Jan. 31 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Space in the program is limited and the course is set to begin on March 6.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu.
