By Professor Samuel Colton
Arizona Western College
Institute of Welding Technology
Yuma, Arizona

I thought it would be appropriate to send you word of our successful completion of our first all Spanish welding instruction using the HIWT SMAW DVD and print training materials in Spanish.  Our 24 Latino students found the training sequence supported by the DVD presentation very helpful in allowing them to study welding in their native language.  Many of these students are taking ESL (English as a Second Language) classes but also have immediate needs to upgrade their job skills for better employment opportunities.  The HIWT training materials allowed me, as a multilingual educator, to focus on the student learning outcomes.  Our use of HIWT materials are lab tested and used at our main campus and off campus welding program sites.  Our students were averaging 50 lbs. of Hobart electrodes each class session.  The emphasis on welding applications in these training materials allows students to build those all important welding skills. 

The students also received training in the use of oxy-fuel cutting equipment, plasma cutting equipment and carbon arc cutting.  It was exciting to participate in these students successes in learning basic arc welding techniques, thanks to the great training product made available by the folks at the Hobart Institute.  One of the benefits of this training product is it can be used for both English and Spanish welding instruction.  I've attached a photo of our students at our final class meeting as they received a certificate for successful completion of the course.

We are pleased with the overall impact of the HIWT training materials that we are using in our welding and quality control and inspection courses, which will begin again in a few weeks.  This summer I was able to return to the 28th annual NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development ) conference in Austin, Texas and present some of the team successes our students enjoyed as they custom built a special ride vehicle for our campus photographer. 

Again our post secondary student Mr. Jason Trepanier represented Arizona at the SkillsUSA National Conference in Kansas City and we are proud of his consistent performance and high placing in this competition.  Much of our students’ success can be attributed to maintaining consistent training standards that support the AWS SENSE program. While in Kansas City I was invited to participate in the AWS Welding Education Committee meeting and was so impressed with the hard work and dedication these volunteers provide on behalf of welding education in America. 

My summer travel ended with my participation in the Arizona ACTE summer conference where I completed ICTP (Instructor Certification Training Program ) for the NCCER training program.  Also, at the Arizona SkillsUSA corporate meeting, I was elected to serve as the post-secondary board member.  Having been a student competitor at the state and national level nearly thirty years ago it’s an honor to serve students in this capacity. 

In the fall, AWC hosted the 7^th annual Welders Without Borders event.  (See detailed article in this issue)  It was a great program and it is another great year to be in welding education!