MADISON – Students in Madison City Schools soon will have a new hands-on curriculum with the Craft Academy Welding Program.

MCS Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols announced the welding program in his weekly email update to district families on Oct. 15. In recent weeks, Nichols and members of his staff met with Ed Castile from AIDT or Alabama Industrial Development Training.

The Madison administrators discussed the future of welding in the MCS district. “I am happy to announce that we will be offering a dual-enrollment welding program starting January 2022,” Nichols said. The welding program will give students the opportunity to pursue several certifications for industry welding.

AIDT plans to partner with MCS and bring a mobile welding lab and provide a welding instructor.

On Nov. 4, student families can learn more about the welding classes at a Parent Information Meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. at MCS Central Office, 211 Celtic Drive.

The Craft Academy Welding classes will be a pilot program that will be available to a select few students next spring.

Individuals may not realize that workers use more than 30 different types of welding. Traveling welders can easily earn more than $100,000 annually. Welders are in demand in North Alabama and frequently have starting jobs at $18 per hour.

The Level I Welding Program is affiliated with National Center for Construction Education and Research or NCCER. A student can complete the two-year program quicker, depending on the student’s motivation.

At the end of the program, students have the option to take the American Welding Society D1.1 Structural Weld Test. MCS will provide all welding materials and gear.

The class will count as dual-enrollment credit (if the student is not enrolled in any other dual-enrollment program). When a student successfully completes the program, he or she will earn the NCCER Core, NCCER Safety and Welding Certificate.

Three certifications are possible:

* Shielded Metal Arc welding (SMAW) Stick Welding.

* Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) Mig Welding.

* Flux-Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) Flux Welding.

Any students who are interested in enrolling in the welding program must contact their counselor at school and provide their name, personal email and contact information.