CWB Group’s national welding program seeks to bridge skills gap; attract youth

TORONTO, ON, May 19, 2015 - Today, The CWB Group, Canada's national welding certification body, has launched Acorn, the first ever national end-to-end welding program in Canada. Acorn is an innovative program that incorporates education, training, and assessment to create the highly skilled, in-demand welders, fitters, supervisors, inspectors and engineers Canada needs.

“Canada’s continued economic prosperity will require welding professionals, so investment in skills development has never been more important,” said CWB Group president Doug Luciani. “We are confident that working with government, educators, and industry, we can ensure the Canadian welding industry remains a global leader.”

As billions of dollars of infrastructure, shipbuilding and energy projects get underway from coast to coast to coast, skilled welders are in high demand. But the average age of the most skilled welders is approaching 60.

With a looming shortage of qualified welders, training and assessment of skills has never been such a critical issue. To support this, The CWB Group, through CWB Education and the CWB Welding Foundation has been working closely with industry and educators. At its annual National Educators Conference, being held on May 25 and 26 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, welding teachers of all levels will begin to receive the Acorn training and certification needed to move this process forward.