LNG Canada and CWB Welding Foundation announce new summer welding camps for youth

Building off the success of our pilot welding camp earlier this year in Kitimat, B.C., we’re excited to announce the dates and locations of Arx and Sparx, our welding camps for youth.

Our partner, CWB Welding Foundation will deliver week-long camps to introduce Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, aged 11-17 years old, to the welding trade in the following locations:

Location	Start Date	Camp Location	Camp Contact	Contact Email
Terrace	7/15/2019	Coast Mountain College	Haley Thickett	HThickett@coastmountaincollege.ca
Prince Rupert	7/22/2019	Coast Mountain College	Haley Thickett	HThickett@coastmountaincollege.ca
Kamloops	7/29/2019	Thompson Rivers University	Dwayne Geiger	dgeiger@tru.ca
Surrey	8/12/2019	Kwantlen Polytech	Al Sumal	al.sumal@kpu.ca
Cowichan/ Duncan	8/12/2019	Vancouver Island University	Mike Hallam	Michael.Hallam@viu.ca
Kitimat	8/26/2019	KVI	Brent Sunshine	BSunshine@kves.ca

The camps are a week long, with a graduation ceremony for the group on the last day. The students will learn about welding safety, gas metal arc welding (GMAW), an introduction to weld symbols, and a brief overview of the impact welding has on their daily lives.

Once the theoretical portion is completed, students will have fun putting their practical welding skills to the test, while they create their own projects, including the 7 teachings project with a focus on the Turtle, Bear, Beaver, Sasquatch, Bison, Eagle, Wolf.

Cultural awareness is an important aspect of Arx and Sparx. Connecting the students’ projects to the local culture and for some, their own identity, is a key priority of the camps.

Arx and Sparx camps are offered to youth at no cost and funded by LNG Canada.

The Canadian welding industry provides many great and diverse career opportunities and Arx and Sparx is part of an effort to build and sustain a highly skilled Canadian welding workforce. Funding the camps is part of LNG Canada’s long-term workforce development strategy to increase participation in trades training and address labour shortages.

Those interested in attending a camp should reach out to their local contact, listed in the chart above, for more information or to register.

NT5