Welding and Materials Joining
Career Pathway
Start prepping NOW for your dream job or work-anywhere trade skills!
Sharpen Your Welding Skills. Prepare for Certification.
In today’s digital-dominated environment, there’s something to be said for someone who makes a living with their hands. Do you love to work with your hands to build machines that last lifetimes? Are you fascinated by welding, fabrication and metalwork? If this sounds like you, then a career in the skilled trade industry could play right into your hands. Take a truly hands-on, deep dive into the time-tested, world-building realms of welding, fabrication and materials joining through this two-year pathway. If you want to break into this industry and learn what it takes to earn your living as a certified welder, this program is sure to get you fired up.
What You'll Learn
From 9th grade upward, enroll in A-G approved courses to start preparing for your skilled trade career. Classes include:
- Year 1: CTE Concentrator Welding & Fabrication | UC/CSU Approved as “F” Visual and performing arts
- Year 2: CTE Capstone Welding & Fabrication | UC/CSU Approved as “G” Elective
- Want to continue in this pathway? Enroll in one of the following for a third or fourth year:
- CTE Leadership/Internship Directed Studies (with teacher approval) | UC/CSU Approved as “G” Elective
- Ventura College: WEL V01 Introduction to Welding (dual enrollment)
What You’ll Do
Take what you’re learning in the classroom into the real world and experience for yourself all that awaits you in the time-honored and always-needed skilled trade industry. Hands-on, immersive experiences include:
- Intensive welding work
- Professional guest speakers
- CNC Machining
- 3D Modeling/Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Blueprint reading
- Field trips to local industry partners and colleges to explore potential career paths
Who You Can Be
Kickstart your career path with top-tier academic instruction and industry-leader insights. The Welding and Fabrication program prepares you for potential careers such as:
- Certified Welder
- Certified Union Welder
- Product Designer
- Aerospace Welder
- Welding Engineer
- Underwater Welder
- Robotic Welding Technician
Industry Average Wages: $54,000–$125,000
Projected Industry Growth: 12-16%
What You Need to Know
VUSD’s Welding and Fabrication CTE pathway prepares students for successful careers in the skilled trade industry, with a particular focus on welding and fabrication work. Students (grades 9 and up) learn vital skills such as tool safety, project planning, project construction and project finishing. The program is based at Ventura High School and consists of two sequenced year-long courses, a concentrator followed by a capstone.
Students learn and sharpen skills with extensive welding experience under high-level direction. Students also benefit from respected guest speakers within the skilled trade industry, as well as partnerships with Tri-Counties Sheet Metal Workers' JATC training facility and renowned local businesses like Elite Plating, Syndicated Machine, Royal Hydraulics and C&R Molds. Students emerge from this truly hands-on program with enhanced skills, confidence, and direct access to a high-demand career.
Once you have gained the skills and knowledge in this pathway, there are many options for your next steps after high school - some you can even begin pursuing before you graduate!
1 Year
Welding Technology, Certificate - Ventura College
Industrial Technology and Fabrication, Certificate - Ventura College
2 Year
Welding Technology, Associate in Science - Ventura College
4 Year
Bachelor of Science, Industrial Engineering - California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Bachelor of Science, Manufacturing Engineering - California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo