RIVEROAK Upgrades Welding Dept.

Photo above: The welding department is receiving an upgrade with 20 new booths, new ventilation, and electrical upgrades. 

They had to literally demolish the welding classroom/laboratory before they could begin. -RIVEROAK Courtesy Photo

By Tami Stevenson

One thing students can count on at RIVEROAK Technical College, in Live Oak, is they are constantly making plans to upgrade and expand. Whether in the medical field, computers, culinary, automotive, masonry, electrical or welding and more, students can count on the fact that RIVEROAK is planning an upgrade or expansion somewhere.

     Today the college is seeing the result of years of planning to revamp their welding department, made possible by a $965,000 grant they were awarded from the Workforce Capitalization Incentive Grant Program (CAP) last year.  The grant was able to provide 20 full-fledged professional level booths in the welding laboratory. Two of the booths are ADA compliant.

     “We mainly welded outside in makeshift booths because of ventilation, so we’re just ecstatic,” said RIVEROAK’s Principal/Director of Career and Technical Education Mary Keen.

     Workforce education instructor Janora Crow said, “Because the building is older, the electrical capacity was not where it needed to be. The grant afforded us the opportunity to renovate and upgrade the electrical.”

     They were operating with only four welding booths in the lab and some temporary makeshift booths outside.

     Crow, also the grant writer, said, “In an effort to promote better health, we applied for a fume extraction system.” So not only will they have 20 new welding booths and newly upgraded electricity, but snorkels in every booth to improve ventilation as well.

     Everyone involved in the welding and electrical revamp at the college is very excited for the new upgrades.

     “The renovations to our Electricity and Welding program laboratories will greatly expand our ability to serve more students and enhance the quality of training we provide,” said Principal Keen “Upgrading the electrical capacity allows us to incorporate additional electric welders—beyond our previous reliance on gas—and power new training systems for programmable logic control systems (PLC’s).”

     Welding Instructor Kevin Mercer said, “These new booths will be able to do it all, Stick, MIG, TIG and Flux.” He added they now have approximately 100 welding students, which includes adults, with day and night classes. “This (new welding lab) should all be finished in time for fall students.”

     “We’re incredibly grateful for the Workforce Capitalization Grants funded by the Governor and Legislature, which continue to support career and technical education programs across the state,” said Keen.

     Anyone interested in taking a welding class should contact RIVEROAK’s student services.

Left: RIVEROAK Welding Instructor Kevin Mercer, Mike Parker and, Murrell Bennett  from Jones Welding.   -SVT Photo

This bulbous beauty is known as the Silencer! Where all the snorkels feed into before leaving the building.                           -SVT Photo

Working, working, working! -SVT Photo

This up-to-date electrical panel will meet all of their welding needs. -SVT Photo

Matt and Austin, from Lincoln Electrics are installing the booths. Matt said they do a lot of sub-contracting for the southeastern region.  -SVT Photo 

The final destination for the particles from the snorkels. -SVT Photo