Fresno City College’s welding program prepares students for the future
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Wednesday is National Skilled Trades Day, and all year long students at Fresno City College can learn skills from the Tech and Trades Pathway.
Monday through Saturday at the shop at Fresno City College students work on several different projects.
Every day students from across the valley continue to get hands-on experience that prepares them for their future.
“When I first stepped into the classroom, I was really excited about all of the hands-on learning and the instructors being right there over your shoulder if you need help, it was a big change from what I was used to in high school,” said Samuel Jordan, a student at Fresno City College.
The welding program is a two-year program, where students take beginning and advanced-level welding classes and from there, they can choose which pathway they want to pursue. Those pathways include welding and fabrication, pipe and structural steel, or welding automation.
Paige Camacho, a student at Fresno City College says she learned many different skills.
“I’ve learned many different skills, I’ve learned all of the different processes, I’ve had a chance to do most of them, and I’ve had chances to meet people from Lincoln Electric, and the AWS foundation,” Camacho said.
For Camacho, her passion for welding started as a little girl as she watched her dad’s welding career unfold.
She now enjoys being one of the few women in the program.
“It’s nice being one of the few because there are so little of us that we support each other in very big ways,” Camacho said. “All of us girls will go to the other shop and help and make sure we are all getting on better than the boys because it’s fun, it’s like a little competition for us.”
Students can get certificates of achievement which take as little as 15 units taking one to two semesters to complete, or they can choose to pursue an associate degree and go through welding and general ed classes to then transfer to another four-year college.
Professor Brett Camacho is in his 19th year of teaching and continues to enjoy watching students from all different skill levels move on to meaningful careers.
“You know, being here for almost 20 years I get to see the students come back after 10 years of being gone and they tell me what they’re doing,” Brett said.
For more information on the Tech and Trades Pathway, click here.