Kentucky Welding Institute — Local services in Flemingsburg

The school as a whole is great - facilities are nice, equipment and materials are good and plentiful. The staff and instructors are all all great too. If you need anything on the admin side they are friendly and overly accommodating. The instructors are all active welders in the industry and will help you as much or as little as you want/need. They seem to basically rotate an instructor or two out about every month so the instructors can stay active out in the field.

The school is not “hard” in the sense of the classroom side or just the 5x8’s times six months. Anyone who has had a job or done any kind of structured work and been even remotely successful in HS/college will do fine on that front. For me the hard part was the actual welding. I had experience in construction from the military and was an automotive mechanic for a while and enjoy thinking in the garage and am a fairly creative/artistic guy, so I truly thought I’d pick the art of welding up really quick and, frankly, easy. But wow was I wrong. It just took me a long time on each new process or test to “get it” so by the time my six months was up I only had 3 certifications - essentially one drone each process and only one in pipe and not the one in pipe that the jobs care about.

But…I say all that as I’m sitting in Oklahoma for a weld test three days after I graduated with another one lined up as back up. So even as “bad” as I did getting through KWIs program I think the industry is hurting enough for welders AND KWI gives you so many other things (osha, mega, cpr, rigging and signal, TWIC), that even someone like me can get opportunities. Note: had NONE prior welding experience and I’m a perfectionist who doesn’t like to ask for help (AKA I basically set myself up to not get far in the program). Which leads me into how you do in the program is completely dependent on the student…so many factors come into play - prior welding experience, natural ability, communication (asking for help), work ethic, etc. Progression through the program runs the gamut.

Changing gears, I’m a bit older so wasn’t about to live in the student housing but a lot of the younger students do and it was neat to see the relationships/develop…they would all work but joke and have fun while at work. I personally lived in morehead at ‘the townhomes and flats at MSU’ right across from morehead state university. I would highly recommend anyone looking for housing check them out I give them 5/5. It’s a consistent 35 minute drive from the school.

Bottom line is, KWI gives you the opportunity to learn and earn everything you will need to get work/work opportunities after graduation regardless of how far you get through the program.

If I could do it all over again I would...

I attended the Kentucky Welding Institute following my highschool graduation. KWI had the resources I needed to land a job right after graduation making $38 an hour and $125 pier diem working 7/12s. What I love most about the institute were the people that helped me get to where I am at today. I was an 18 year old girl with little knowledge about welding but the instructors at KWI didn’t pay attention to that. They look at the drive and dedication I had which showed them how bad I wanted it. The instructors know how the field works, they’ve been in it and made it. They come back and teach their skills to the eager students and help make them the next generation of welders. It’s all about how bad you want it, skill and money will come in time! Every time I go on a different outage I am excited to show the hire in management I have my TWIC, MSHA, OSHA, NCCER, NCCCO, Basic Plus, and CPR because they see that I am more qualified than those who don’t have them. I took my time during school and made sure I learned the skill instead of just brushing over it, I was able to go at my own pace and learn how I wanted to. Eventually I got to a point in school where I could do what I wanted after reaching 7 certifications meaning I received the Golden Arm hood which resembles the blood sweat and tears you put into welding, and the dedication you put into your work. I chose to hit copper nickel hard because that was one of the harder certs, I struggled a lot but I took my time and finally learned how the filler metal sews into the base metal. This skill helped me later on when I had to take a test I had never taken before to hire in because the filler metal was so similar! I would recommend this Institute to anyone, going into the trade is something that should be thought of more. I wouldn’t be where I am at today without the Kentucky...

Hey I’m Jesse fizer I was one of the second class to come through KWI. I couldn’t asked for a better for a better school to go to then an they are still growing an trying everything they can do you make you as good as you can possibly can get walking into this trade as a fresh man out. Just pushing you to try different things making you weld on the floor, weld in a harness, weld out in Mother Nature. You name it they have it to push you to truly be the best you can be walking out of that school. But with saying all that you have to have the motivation your self to push your self also cause this is a self paced school so the sky the limit. This school is not for everyone it’s for the ones that’s want to find the best in them selfs. Not to mention all the certificates you walk out there with. Not only welding but the NCCER,OSHA30,NCCEO,CPR AN FIRST AID, an many more which is all big fators in this trade. So if this is the trade you wanna be in here’s the school KWI.

I WANNA SAY A BIG THANKS TO THE ONES THAT PUSHED ME TO BECOME WHERE I AM TODAY

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