On April 9-10, the EdUP project held its First Practical Training Conference on Welding for the teachers of Vocational Institutions. The event took place at Vinnytsia Higher Vocational College. Six companies participated, providing equipment, consumables, and protective clothing.
Engaging private partners and encouraging them to train educators at vocational institutions, where construction professions are taught, is one of the directions of the EdUP project. To achieve this, the project conducts practical training conferences. Their program includes theoretical and practical sessions, workshops from manufacturers, and the development of soft skills during training.
25 teachers of VET schools had the opportunity to work with equipment from both Ukrainian and foreign manufacturers, improving their existing skills and acquiring new ones.
The conference offered four welding methods: gas welding, shielded metal arc welding, fusion welding protected by active gases, and non-consumable electrode welding in argon. Experts from Ukrainian enterprises such as the Donmet Plant and the Paton Plant, as well as the Finnish company Kemppi, served as mentors.
"Welding methods do not change, but there is new equipment that needs to be studied and modern technologies that need to be mastered. During the training, I saw new welding techniques that are applied in production and had the opportunity to practice them."
"During the training, masters absorb knowledge like a sponge, knowledge that they lack. Many inquire about welding technology. Our enterprise is in Ukraine, and we can provide everything necessary for the continuation of gas welding and cutting."
For the conference, Donmet Plant supplied four gas welding stations, modern reducers, burners, and cutters, allowing participants to work with the latest equipment.
Masters from vocational education institutions noted a lack of skills in argon welding, and during the conference, they had the opportunity to enhance their qualifications specifically in this method.
"In our institution, we mostly use manual welding and semi-automatic machines, and we have argon welding, but there are no funds to buy gas cylinders. It's good that at the training I can acquire skills specifically in argon welding."
"I work with all methods in our institution, except argon. I have never worked with argon welding before, but here I took it up, and it went smoothly right away!"
Argon arc welding devices, along with other equipment, were brought to the conference by LLC “SUMMIT”, a representative of the Finnish company Kemppi, and the Paton plant.
"The motivation of masters to enhance their qualifications and acquire new skills is there, but it primarily comes down to a lack of funds in the institutions and, consequently, equipment for training."
After the practical sessions, participants noted that domestic welding devices are no worse than foreign ones. Serhii Derzheruk, sales director of “Paton International”, also shares this view.
"We need the children who are being educated in Ukraine to usе Ukrainian equipment. For the money it costs to buy one foreign device, you can purchase five of Ukrainian ones, which will work just as well."
For the practical sessions, the company Kriogenservice provided argon gas and a welding gas mixture. During the conference, the enterprise “Sumy-Electrode” demonstrated its welding materials, which were later provided for training masters during the conference. Welder’s protective equipment, namely special clothing, was presented by manufacturers from the company “Insight.” The NGO “Society of Welders of Ukraine,” which provided expert support for the conference, plans to continue coordinating similar educational events.
"It is necessary to regularly enhance the qualifications of educators, introduce them to the latest equipment, and refine their professional skills. Because they are training future professionals. And it is up to them to ensure the quality of training of future welders."
Andriy Bezuhlyi, director of the Vinnytsia Higher Vocational College, where the First Practical Training Conference on Welding took place, emphasized the importance of conducting such trainings, as working professions are the guarantee of any economy’s successful development, and the construction industry plays a key role in creating and rebuilding Ukraine’s infrastructure.
Participants of the conference also took part in a training session: “Internal Potential – the Foundation of Effective Communication” aimed at identifying and developing the necessary soft skills among educators to build effective partnerships with the business sector.
