Welding Technology is a Certificate program offered by Big Bend Technical College in Perry, FL. The program takes 1050 clock hours to complete, with a total tuition of $2,520.
Program Overview
Day: Monday through Friday / 8:00am - 3:00pm
Night: Monday through Thursday / 6:00pm - 9:15pm
This program offers a sequence of courses that provides coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in the manufacturing career cluster; provides technical skill proficiency, and includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of the manufacturing career cluster. This program offers a broad foundation of knowledge and skills to prepare students for employment in the welding industry.
The content includes but is not limited to planning, management, technical and product skills, underlying principles of technology, labor issues, community issues and health, safety, and environmental issues.
The training includes, but is not limited to, use of blueprints and/or shop drawings, use of gases and/or welding processes according to diagram, blueprints or written specifications. Shop or laboratory activities are an integral part of this program and provide instruction in various processes and techniques of welding and fabrication skills. Laboratory activities also include oxacetylene welding, brazing, and cutting (OAW) Arc Welding (SMAW), MIG Welding (GMAW), Flux Cored Welding (FCAW), TIG welding (GTAW), basic understanding of pipe welding, and certification test preparation per current industry standards, practices and techniques. This program includes training in communications, leadership, human relations, and safe and efficient work practices.
The State of Florida requires students to meet a basic skills requirement prior to program completion. The basic skills grade levels for this program are: Computations 9.0 & Communications 9.0.
A student must have passed all required courses in the program, attend at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the class hours offered and satisfied all financial obligations before he or she is eligible to receive a certificate of completion for the program. Completion time depends on the progress of the individual. The typical length of this program for the average achieving student is 1050 hours.
What sets this Program apart
- A Florida career certificate programme taught on Big Bend’s campus in Perry, Taylor County.
- Courses carry Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) numbers, so career and technical credit is awarded on a transcript under Florida statute.
- Accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE), which is what makes the college’s programmes eligible for federal Title IV financial aid.
- Tuition is charged per clock hour at Florida’s resident rate, so the price of a programme follows its length rather than a term calendar.
School Information
Location
Why Accreditation Is Important
Attending an accredited institution means your education has met independently reviewed quality standards designed to protect students.
This program: Big Bend Technical College is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE).
- A reliable indicator of educational quality
- Eligible for federal Title IV financial aid
- Credit awarded on a Florida transcript under the Statewide Course Numbering System
- Recognised by employers across Florida
Accreditations
Admission Requirements and Process
Entry is governed by Big Bend’s published course catalog and, where the programme is regulated, by the Florida board that regulates it. The requirements and the application steps are listed below.
General Requirements
- A completed application submitted to the BBTC Student Services Office.
- A standard high school diploma or a GED® diploma; diplomas from non-accredited sources are not accepted.
- Basic skills in mathematics, reading and language arts are assessed where the programme's Florida framework sets a level.
Application Process
- 1
- 2Basic skills assessmentWhere the programme’s Florida framework sets a basic-skills level in mathematics, reading and language arts, it is assessed before completion.
- 3Programme-specific screeningRegulated health programmes additionally require an entrance examination, a drug screening and a Level II criminal background screening, all at the applicant’s expense.
- 4Financial aidBig Bend is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education and participates in federal Title IV aid. File the FAFSA and speak to the Financial Aid Office.
Program Schedule
The programme is 1050 clock hours, the length Big Bend’s catalog publishes for it. It is a planned sequence of instruction organised into Florida Occupational Completion Points, so a documented credential is earned at each stage of the sequence rather than only at the end.
Curriculum
The Occupational Completion Point sequence below is the course table printed in Big Bend’s own course catalog, with the Statewide Course Numbering System codes the college assigns. Its hours sum to exactly 1050 — the programme’s full length, and the figure the catalog prints as its Program Length.
Required Courses
| Subject # | Name | Total |
|---|---|---|
| PMT0070 | Welder Assistant 1 | 150 |
| PMT0071 | Welder Assistant 2 | 150 |
| PMT0072 | Welder, SMAW 1 | 150 |
| PMT0073 | Welder, SMAW 2 | 150 |
| PMT0074 | Welder | 450 |
| Totals | 1,050 |
Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid Information
Big Bend charges by the clock hour rather than by the term. At Florida’s resident rate the college records for this programme, its 1050 clock hours come to about $2,520.00 in tuition. Lab, certification and programme-specific fees vary and sit outside that figure; the college provides a fee sheet to each applicant.
Federal financial aid is available to those who qualify — Big Bend’s accreditation by the Council on Occupational Education (COE) is what makes its programmes Title IV eligible. The college publishes its financial-aid information, including its CARES Act and HEERF disbursement reports, on its own site.
Career Outcomes
Big Bend states its mission as providing quality education and technical training that empowers each student to reach their potential, under the motto “Educate, Empower, Employ”. Programmes are built to Florida’s career and technical education frameworks, and several carry industry certifications earned inside the programme’s own time frame; the college lists the certifications attached to each programme in its catalog.
What to expect as a Big Bend Technical College student
Big Bend is a public technical college operated by the Taylor County School District, and its career and technical programmes are measured in clock hours against Florida’s Occupational Completion Point framework. That is why length, progress and price are all quoted in hours here rather than credits or semesters.
Expect the work to be hands-on and the sequence to be set by the programme. Expect basic skills in mathematics, reading and language arts to be assessed where the Florida framework for your programme sets a level, and expect regulated health programmes to add an entrance examination, drug screening and a Level II background check at your own expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
School Information
Location
Why Accreditation Is Important
Attending an accredited institution means your education has met independently reviewed quality standards designed to protect students.
This program: Big Bend Technical College is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE).
- A reliable indicator of educational quality
- Eligible for federal Title IV financial aid
- Credit awarded on a Florida transcript under the Statewide Course Numbering System
- Recognised by employers across Florida