Trident Workforce Investment Board Prepares One Stop Customers for Careers in Welding

Charleston, SC, November 12, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Thirteen Trident One Stop Career System (TOSCS) customers recently graduated from the Welding Training Program, a Trident Workforce Investment Board (TWIB) initiative in partnership with Trident Technical College (TTC).

Paul L. Connerty, Executive Director Trident Workforce Investment Board congratulated the graduates on behalf of the TWIB. “The Trident Workforce Investment Board has been committed to this program from the beginning, By completing this program, you have also demonstrated your commitment to the future success of our region’s economy. You will be great ambassadors for the Trident One Stop Career System and Trident Technical College.”

Trident Technical College provided the site and instructors for the 280-hour Flux Core Arc welding and Shielded Metal Arc welding training program, while the Trident Workforce Investment Board provided funding, through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), so eligible students could attend the program at no-cost.

Students were trained in flat, vertical and overhead welding utilizing the Flux Core Arc Welding and the Shielded Metal Arc welding process. In addition, students received training in Carbon Arc Gouging, cutting and burning with the acetylene and oxygen torch, cutting using the acetylene and oxygen track torch, and grinding of welds and plate preparation using 4 and 8 inch grinders.

“These new skills gave the graduates a competitive edge for employment at repair, fabrication and manufacturing companies. This training program improves the skill sets of the workforce and provides companies skilled workers, which makes it a win-win for everyone,” said Homer L. Spaulding, Assistant Director Manufacturing Industrial & Construction Trades Trident Technical College Continuing Education Division.

Cassandra Jamison, Trident One Stop Career System Director, and John Snowden, Trident Technical College VP Continuing Education and Economic Development, offered congratulations to the graduates for their “hard work and determination.”

South Carolina House of Representative Joe Danning also offered his congratulations and impressed on the graduates that they should take advantage of all opportunities available to them, “I wasn’t always a legislator. Homer {Spaulding}, Jackie {Marks}, and I started as nuclear pipe welders together in the 1960s.”

Immediately, after the graduation ceremony, human resources managers representing Pegasus Steel, Force Protection, Detyens Shipyards and Laurentide interviewed the graduates.

The mission of the Trident Workforce Investment Board (TWIB) is to develop the region’s workforce by providing high quality workforce development programs and services to its customers. To accomplish this mission, it created a market driven and user-friendly workforce system investing workforce funding to recruit, prepare, and train workers with the skills needed to support existing industry and attract new industry to the tri-county region.

The TWIB provides funding for the Trident One Stop Career System. The Trident One Stop Career System is a nationally recognized workforce development system staffed by some of the best trained workforce professionals in the nation. The Trident One Stop Career Center is located at 1930 Hanahan Road in North Charleston. Satellite Centers are located in Moncks Corner, Summerville and Charleston.

For more information on available services and programs or to find the center nearest to you, call 843-574-1800 or TTY 711. An Equal Opportunity Employer Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

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