Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2013)

50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? SEPTEMBER 2013 MARKET FOCUS TRAINING & EDUCATION and informal discussion time. Ken Johnson, lead instructor and now a full-time SSCC employee, says, ?Morn-ings we cover theory, symbols, processes to follow, and we set our objectives for the day.? Guest speakers, including cur- rent shipyard craftspeople, give the stu-dents insight into the options available to them in the industrial workplace. After- noons are spent working with the equip-ment: cutting tables, industrial machining equipment, and the weld-booths. ?Stu-dents will master multiple weld types us-ing actual deck plate,? says Johnson. ?We anticipate each student will burn 25-30 pounds of [welding]wire.?Johnson has been a working welder for 32 years, many of those at the Harbor Is-land yard. He?s worked as a supervisor and in QA, among many other jobs. His experience, patience and love of sharing his work with his students made him the perfect choice to emulate Rasmussen?s role in Portland.The working ß oor has 24 welding booths each assigned to a speciÞ c stu- dent. Students have a wide range of skill levels and each works at their own pace. At the end of the Þ ve-month program, successful students will receive their welding certiÞ cation.Daniel Stone, recently discharged from the U.S. Army, joined the Þ rst Harbor Island cohort. Says Stone, ?This is a great opportunity to Þ nd a job in a high- demand occupation.?Fellow student Shannon Kelley is there because he ??wants to build ships.? He enrolled at SSCC hoping to get a welding certiÞ cate and jumped at the chance to be part of the Þ rst self-contained program at the shipyard. Shaking his head with amazement at his own words, he says, ?I look forward to coming to school every day!? On orientation day, Kelley rode the bus to the nearest stop, then walked a mile to the yard ? and arrived early. He?s been arriving early and leaving late every day since.The college program brochure states; Two quarters of training will prepare you to:? Diagnose and cure common welding defects? Demonstrate safe operation of oxy- acetylene equipment? Complete FCAW welds in the vertical position for marine operations? Demonstrate knowledge of welding practices, joint Þ t-up, pre-weld prepa-ration, back gouging, shear points, weld stress and warpage, and environ-mental effects on weld procedures ? Execute shipyard speci Þ c skills Each student has their welding booth. Shown are two of 24 units at the Harbor Island Training Center. (Photo credit: Kathleen Gleaves) MR #9 (50-57).indd 50MR #9 (50-57).indd 509/3/2013 12:23:20 PM9/3/2013 12:23:20 PM