School aims to keep steady flow of welding talent

An instructor observes the handiwork of a student at the Sparx Welding and Technology Institute in Houma, La.

With qualified welders among the most sought-after trade persons, officials of a Houma, La., training facility say they intend to keep the pipeline of talent flowing.

The privately-held Sparx Welding and Technology Institute says it offers a proprietary training curriculum that is fully accredited to the rigid standards of the American Welding Society (AWS). In what he describes as a “one-stop shop for welding education,” the school’s CEO, Phillip Callahan, Jr., said after completing the course, graduates can proceed directly to an affiliated company to take the test for AWS certification.

“We have no semesters, so students can start whenever they wish. Our basic welding course is seven weeks, or 280 clock hours. We also are affiliated with an AWS testing facility, so they can go from here to testing for certification.”

While there are no guarantees, he said up to 98% of the graduates—to date—have passed the AWS certification test. 

Callahan said Sparx also works with local companies to establish in-house welding training for their personnel and new hires.

The institute is licensed as a proprietary school by the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Louisiana Department of Education and the Louisiana Workforce Commission. In addition, Sparx has been approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to allow the training of international vocational students.