As part of our ongoing high school internship program, our interns have been diving into the fundamentals of welding, fabrication, and construction— and they’re off to an impressive start. With a few weeks under their belts, they’ve already covered a wide range of technical topics that are helping them build a strong foundation in the field.
So far, the group has been introduced to common acronyms used across various welding processes and learning about the terminology behind weld passes—root, hot, fill, and cap—which breaks down the sequence and structure of a proper weld.
Blueprint literacy has been another focus area. Interns have started to familiarize themselves with key drawing types like isometric drawings (ISOs) and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs). Understanding how to read and interpret these visuals is essential, especially when it comes to determining pipe orientation or following complex routing paths.
In addition to field processes, they’ve begun exploring important quality control tools and documentation. This includes the role of Material Test Reports (MTRs), what information these documents contain, and why they’re critical to project traceability. They’ve also learned about the purpose behind weld log trackers (WLTs) and torque log trackers (TLTs), and how these documents help maintain consistency and accountability throughout a project.
Planning and project prep have played a role in their learning as well. The interns have been introduced to the process of doing takeoffs—reviewing project drawings to calculate the materials and resources needed. They’ve started to understand how this impacts project budgeting and execution, and why accuracy in this step is so vital. They’ve also reviewed documentation terms and even observed comparisons between the two to better understand how drawings evolve during a project lifecycle.
Finally, the interns are becoming familiar with the various types of inspections performed on completed welds. They’ve learned the acronyms for different inspection methods and begun to understand how each one is used to verify quality and ensure safety. Additionally, they’ve touched on the importance of weld and heat mapping and how it supports documentation and compliance efforts in the field.
This internship is still in progress, but it’s clear that our students are absorbing critical knowledge and skills that will serve them well, whether they pursue a career in construction or simply gain a deeper appreciation for the work that goes into building energy infrastructure. We’re excited to see how much more they accomplish as the program continues.
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