Wallace State hosts week-long NC3 Train the Trainer welding workshop

HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State Community College’s Welding Department recently hosted a week-long National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) Train the Trainer workshop, welcoming instructors from multiple states for Lincoln Electric curriculum instruction.

Wallace State welding instructor Jim Thompson is one of three NC3 Welding Master Trainers in the United States and was among the leading instructors during the training, designed to build on the foundational knowledge of traditional welding practices, educate instructors on the latest equipment and techniques, and raise overall welding education standards across the nation.

“One of our goals is to give instructors the knowledge and the practicality to deliver lesson plans and teach their students the Lincoln Electric NC3 curriculum,” Thompson said. “Each day we feature a different welding process.”

Attendees spent each morning in the classroom, learning through lecture and discussion and implemented different processes each afternoon at the Wallace State welding shop, which is equipped with a Lincoln Electric fume extractor arm system in each booth.

Instructors from colleges in Kansas, California, Texas, North Dakota and Ohio attended the event in addition to Wallace State instructors Chris Posey and Jacob Humphrey.

Thompson, Aaron Schreiber and Ben McFarland are the three welding NC3 Master Trainers across the U.S. Schreiber and McFarland live in Wisconsin.

“We hope the attendees make an effort to implement this curriculum at their respective colleges. It’s valuable training for all,” Thompson said.

Wallace State’s Applied Technologies Division is a NC3 leader across the U.S, shaping curriculum across the country with three instructors certified as NC3 Master Trainers: Thompson, Jeremy Smith (Diesel Technology) and Steve Smith (Machine Tool Technology).

NC3 and Lincoln Electric hosted its first welding training event at the Lincoln Electric Welding Technology & Training Center in Cleveland in June.

NC3 is a network of education providers and corporations that, together, embody passion for innovative CTE models and produce a sustainable, highly-skilled workforce. It was established to help build a workforce prepared to meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s industries by connecting employers and educational institutions in partnerships that foster effective training, elevation of skilled careers, and employment opportunities.

For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.