The Workforce Training Department at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College has partnered with the Mineral County Technical Center, located at 981 Harley O. Staggers Drive in Keyser, to offer evening welding classes this fall, starting Sept. 12.
Eastern’s welding classes are taught by Carl Rexrode of Burlington. Rexrode is a graduate of Keyser High School and the Mineral County Technical Center, and he worked as a welder for Mineral Fabrication and Machine for several years before teaching welding for the Mineral County school system. He has taught welding for Eastern since 2018.
In addition to his current work as a plant operator at Kingsford Manufacturing Company, Rexrode took over his family’s Burlington farm in 2020, representing the fifth generation of his family to farm. “Although I love to farm,” Rexrode said, “teaching allows me to share my knowledge with students. It is with great pride that I continue to teach welding for Eastern.”
Rexrode’s classes, both at the beginning and intermediate levels, will be held Monday and Tuesday from 5 to 9 p.m. from Sept. 12 through Nov. 15. Both provide students with 75 hours of training and include lecture and hands-on experiences with an instructor who is a skilled welder.
Welding Fundamentals focuses on welding techniques and safety procedures, and students will be introduced to Oxyfuel cutting and shielded metal arc welding. The Fundamentals class is for new students as well as welders who want to improve their skills.
Welding Intermediate covers welding symbols and interpreting welding detail drawings, as well as techniques such as gas metal arc welding, flux core arc welding, and gas tungsten arc welding. This class is for students who already have basic welding skills or experienced welders who want to develop new skills. The Intermediate class is also American Welding Society (AWS) certification eligible.
Financial aid to help pay for the training may be available for those who qualify. For more information or to register for the welding class, visit https://easternwv.edu/workforce-education or call 304-434-8000.
Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College’s Workforce Education Department, based in Moorefield, serves six counties in the Potomac Highlands by offering a variety of affordable workforce trainings, covering agriculture, CDL training, healthcare, and welding.
