College of the Canyons has partnered with Lincoln Electric to provide certified robotic training to Lincoln Electric clients, establishing the college as the first official Lincoln Electric Education Partner School (LEEPS) in the nation.

A multi-tiered program that supports welding instructors at every level of education, LEEPS provide industry certification to welders who meet specific program requirements.

The college offered its first three-day training session to four students from August 15-18, 2017.

“We are proud to be the first school to offer Lincoln Electric off-site robotic training classes,” said Tim Baber, department chair of welding technology at the college. “This would not be possible were it not for our state-of-the-art welding equipment and expert industry knowledge.”

Thanks to Baber’s skilled instruction during the three-day industry-level robotic programming and welding program, the entire first cohort of students received a Certificate of Completion from Lincoln Electric and the college’s Employee Training Institute (ETI).

Previously, Lincoln Electric clients on the West Coast had to travel to the company’s headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, to receive training, which would result in travel expenses for employees and employers.

“Partnering with College of the Canyons allows us to do regional training much closer to where our customers work and live,” said Jason Scales, Lincoln Electric manager of education services, in a press release statement.

During the three-day training session at COC, students learned structured programming language techniques, proper editing procedures, and error recovery through hands-on exercises in a combination lecture-laboratory format.

“We are very excited to be the first Lincoln Electric Education Partner School in the nation,” said John Milburn, Executive Director of ETI. “This further cements the college’s position as an industry leader in the area of robotic welding.”

The college’s next Lincoln Electric training session is expected to be held from Dec. 12-14, 2017.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln Electric has 63 manufacturing locations, including operations and joint ventures in 23 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. The company is considered the world leader in manufacture, development and design of robotic arc welding systems, arc welding, as well as oxyfuel and plasma cutting equipment.

For more information about the college’s welding technology program, please visit the link below:
[COCWelding].