CWA Foundation Hosts Students for Welding Events

The Canadian Welding Association (CWA) Foundation recently hosted a week of welding at the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) Group’s headquarters in Milton, Ont., that included robotics and welding students from various schools within the Halton District School Board and technology educators from both the Halton District and the Toronto Catholic District School Boards.

“It was a great time. All of the students and educators really enjoyed their experience learning about the welding profession and having the opportunity to actually put their skills to the test and weld final projects,” said Deborah Mates, executive director of the CWA Foundation. “Seeing the students’ interest in welding and how they worked as a team clearly showed that if students are exposed to the welding profession in a safe environment, they really take hold and enjoy it.”

In early December, female robotics students from M.M. Robinson High School, Burlington Central High School, Garth Webb Secondary School, Craig Kielburger Secondary School, Milton District High School, and Georgetown District High School learned about gas metal arc welding (GMAW), welding safety, and proper welding techniques. The students even tried the virtual welding simulator and welded a decorative Christmas bell.

“I loved it. It was a lot of fun,” said Heather Tarnawski, a grade 12 robotics student from M.M Robinson High School. “I like the arcs and sparks and fusing metals together and seeing how it all works out when the project is completed.”

Grace Hammel, a grade 10 robotics student at Burlington Central High School, said, “I thought the idea of welding was cool. I like how the course was broken down and we got to weld a final project. I’ve done welding before and I thought this was really cool. I definitely want to go into the trades. This has encouraged me to look into welding.”

On hand to educate the students on all safety measures, proper welding techniques, and to ensure the environment was safe was CWA Manager for Western Canada Ken McKen, along with Kim Kovaks and Tony Pisano, both CWB certification service representatives, and Jamie McMillan, a female ironworker.

McKen and his team not only assisted the robotics students, but also hosted a “Train the Trainer” session for manufacturing educators throughout the Halton District School Board. The fundamentals of gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and GMAW, safety, and an introduction to the latest welding technologies were covered.

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