Keeping students safe and healthy became a top priority for NPC/NAVIT welding instructors and staff.
Located in the mountains of northeastern
Arizona, Northland Pioneer College
provides real-life experiences to high
school juniors and seniors in 11 area school
districts through its dual enrollment program.
In conjunction with Northern Arizona
Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT),
a partner institution, NPC/NAVIT offers
courses ranging from cosmetology to welding.
One of the most popular classes at
NPC/NAVIT is the welding applications
program, which provides students with the
skills necessary to become National Center
for Construction Education and Research-
14 PRACTICAL WELDING TODAY
March/April 2009
(NCCER) and American Welding Society-
(AWS) certified welders. Led by weld
instructor Curtis Casey, NPC/NAVIT’s
weld program has taken off, expanding to
facilities in Holbrook and St. Johns, and
attracting high school, charter school,
home-schooled, and college students, as
well as tradesmen and hobbyist welders.
“We were the first and are still the only
AWS-endorsed educational and testing
facility in northeastern Arizona,” Casey said.
Students take courses in gas metal arc
welding (GMAW), gas tungsten arc welding
(GTAW), and shielded metal arc welding
(SMAW) on carbon steel, low-alloy steel,
stainless steel, and aluminum. After completing the Level 3 course, high school and
junior college students can earn certifications
in welding plate and pipe. By combining
welding theory with practical application
skills, students are ready for the work force
and will have gotten off to a good start on
earning an associate’s degree.
“In two years they can get all the core
requirements for an associate of applied science degree in welding. They’d just have to
take five additional general education classes
to get the associate’s degree,” Casey said.
