Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Mar 26/04) - The sparks are flying at Snowstar Mechanical in Fort Providence.

Inside the silver, rounded shop in the community's light industrial area, seven men are learning the basics of welding in a 16-week introductory course.

Aurora College welding instructor Colin Bradbury brought the mobile welding unit to town. The trailer is crammed with equipment that has been unloaded into the shop. Drill presses, grinders, a band saw and several oxy-acetylene gas tanks fill the floor space.

Four work booths are screened off, but fumes from the gases and red-hot metal are hardly noticeable due to the mobile ventilation unit overhead -- a system that the students helped to set up, Bradbury noted.

Tables are full of metal blocks known as "coupons," used for practice cuts and welds. There are also many everyday parts made of metal in need of repair -- some dropped off by local residents -- such as handlebars, snowmobile frames, sled and trailer hitches, chairs and mufflers.

Some of the students have used the welding equipment to fashion items for themselves like a wood stove, guitar stands and a ventilation hood for a gazebo.

"They're applying what they've learned," Bradbury said. "These are skills they'll never lose... whether they pursue the trade or not."

The days are divided between theory, which is based on the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) first-year curriculum, and hands-on training.

The participants are taught principles of energy, how to identify metals and the basics of metallurgy. They are gaining experience in gas welding, arc welding, low-temperature brazing and silver soldering. Welding in different positions -- lap, butt and overhead, for example -- and learning to maintain and service welding equipment are also part of the course.

Safety is a top priority as fires and explosions are possible consequences of ignorance or inattentiveness, Bradbury acknowledged.

The introductory program will not qualify students to slide into a welding job on a pipeline or on the proposed Deh Cho bridge. However, they will be able to to apply the 500 hours of experience towards a three-year apprenticeship on the road to becoming a journeyman, Bradbury noted.

"If they can make it through this course, they can make it through apprenticeships," he said.

Gargan said he sees welding as a job prospect.

"You can do so much with welding," he said.

Fellow student Howard Elleze added, "As a welder you can do almost everything."