College Welding Apprentice attending National Conference

College of the Rockies’ Level 3 Welding apprentice, Tarren Gayse, is off to Vancouver to attend the Canadian Welding Association’s CanWeld Conference.

College of the Rockies’ welding apprenticeship student, Tarren Gayse, has been chosen to attend the Canadian Welding Association’s (CWA) CanWeld Conference taking place September 28 to October 1 in Vancouver.

Trades program coordinator, Tim Ross, was contacted by CWA Director, Dan Tadic, with the offer to sponsor eligible College of the Rockies students to attend. Ross chose Gayse, a Level 3 apprentice, because of the skill as a pipe welder he has demonstrated and because of his experience working in Northern BC. All expenses related to Gayse’s attendance at the conference will be covered by CWA.

“We are thrilled to have the College’s welding program recognized by CWA in this way,” says Ross. “To have one of our apprentices chosen for this opportunity to further expand his learning is a great way to further enhance student learning. We already use the excellent online learning media produced by CWA in our program so Tarren’s participation in this conference is a great fit.”

When he is not training at the College Gayse, who hails from Chetwynd, BC, works for JDG Contracting on the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, a large hydroelectric dam on the Peace River. He is honoured to have been chosen to attend the annual conference and is looking forward to the knowledge he will gain by attending.

“I am most looking forward to learning more about welding inspectors at the conference. I have always been interested in the role of welding inspectors, what they do and what job qualifications are needed to work as one,” Gayse explains. “I am also looking forward to the tour of the Seaspan Shipyards that we will be participating in.”

The theme for this year’s CanWeld conference is “Welding in the Arctic”. “I will have the opportunity to learn more about techniques for dealing with the challenges and issues that come with welding in sub-zero work environments,” Gayse adds.

To learn more about College of the Rockies’ Welding program, go to: cotr.ca/welding