Tulsa Welding School: World Class Welders…First Rate Jobs!

Tulsa Welding School (TWS) has been instructing students how to be professional welders for more than 50 years. As a result of this, the number of graduates is in the thousands and they have been able to be employed in welding careers in many parts of the world! There are two campuses available for students nowadays: Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida; the latter opened in 2001.

TWS dates back to 1949 when two pipeline welders became aware of the need for people in their field. Since then, the School has become the place where welders are molded with a variety of welding specialties and applications. The school is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology.

TWS, Tulsa campus, started its Associate degree program in welding technology in February 1998. This two academic year program contains the Master Welder program for the first-seven months with the next seven months devoted to course material for a Welding QA/QC Inspector. Nondestructive testing techniques are the primary focus of the inspector program.

A professional welder can get good money plus the benefit of selecting welding specialties and geographic locations.

Tulsa Welding School (TWS) has a clear goal: to produce “World Class Welders and Welding Inspectors.” The School fully trains students in the skills, knowledge and workplace attitudes they need to be a part of the welding field. A “World Class Welder” is the one who is dedicated and committed to both workplace experience and education in welding and/or welding inspection. So it’s quite simple to achieve high levels of performance; it just takes work, work, and work!

Tulsa Welding School Training Programs include: Structural Welder (3 ½ months, 16 Semester credit hours), Master Welder (7 months, 30 Semester credit hours), and Associate of Occupational Studies in Welding Technology degree (Tulsa only, 14 months, 64 semester credit hours).

Of the students who enroll at TWS, more than 95% select the Master Welder program because of the many welding specialties and welding processes. The Master Welder program prepares a student for entry level in structural, pipe, thin alloy, and pipeline welding. Key welding processes include SMAW, GMAW, GTAW, FCAW, and high frequency GTAW. The program contains ten training phases of three weeks each.

Structural Welder contains five of the Master Welder phases. This program prepares a graduate to weld on structures (plate surfaces) using the welding processes of SMAW, GMAW and FCAW.

Associate of Occupational Studies in Welding Technology degree consists of the Master Welder program for the first-seven months. Graduates who meet or exceed the cumulative grade point average requirement in addition to other admission requirements may enter the remaining seven months which contain training for a Welding Quality Assurance/Quality Control Inspector. Instruction is focused on Nondestructive Testing techniques. All TWS welder programs transfer semester credit hours toward the TWS Associate degree which is available in Tulsa.

Here are some successful reports from graduate employment from the main campus in Tulsa, OK and the branch campus in Jacksonville, FL. Employer demand for the School’s graduates for the combined years of 2000, 2001 and 2002 go beyond the 1,299 students. Employers requested more then 900 welders than graduates available in this 3 year period! These numbers prove how the industry is recognizing the proficiency of TWS trained welders: Graduates reporting welding pay: 1,239, Reported average starting pay: $3,543 per month, and Employers hiring graduates: over 190.

Have you ever heard the expression, “proof is in the paycheck?” Well, this next list shows how the saying is true…the listing is of employers and employment location for 1,239 TWS graduates:

Employers include: Plumbers & Pipefitters Union, Fluor Global Services, Systems Contractors, Schueck Steel, JV Piping, Nepco, TIMEC, CDK Contractors, Shaw Construction, and Auto Crane. The Employment Department staff helps graduates to prepare their resumes, conduct employment searches, attend interviews and pass the welder tests given by employers.

The School provides financial support for the students as well: “Paygo” per Training Phase Payments, Sallie Mae Supplemental Career Training Loan, Federal Grants based upon need: Pell and SEOG, Federal Family Educational Loans: Stafford and PLUS, Federal/State Workforce Agency, Voc-Rehab, and BIA, and Veterans Educational Benefits.

Students interested in finding out more about these programs can call or go online to get the information.

TWS provides services to its students as part of the educational purpose of instructing and assisting students: Financial Aid Assistance, Student Housing Referral, Student Part-Time Employment Referral, Graduate Employment Assistance, Advisory Services, and Additional Welding Lab Practice.

Tulsa Welding School has all required accreditation licenses, approvals and memberships: Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology, Licensed by Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools (Tulsa), Licensed by Arkansas State Board of Private Career Education (Tulsa), Licensed by Florida Commission for Independent Education (Jacksonville), and Licensed by Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission.

Delivering “World Class Welders” is no easy task…but at Tulsa Welding School, both employers and graduates have proven how much they believe in TWS for this statement to be true!