Welding Pathway Guide

At a glance

This guide covers a high school welding pathway in Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Hawaii. It sets out the rules that differ by state. The how-to for staffing, partnerships, approvals, facilities, curriculum and scheduling sits in six implementation toolkits, linked in the launch steps at the end.

What the pathway leads to

No state among the seven was found to license welders. Employers hire on demonstrated skill, usually shown through a weld test to a code. What students can earn in high school is industry credentials: AWS SENSE certificates, AWS Certified Welder tests taken at an accredited test facility, NCCER Welding levels, and OSHA-10. After high school, students go to work, to a college welding program, or to an apprenticeship in a trade that welds (pipefitting, ironwork, boilermaking).

The decisions you face

1. Which credential system to build on. AWS SENSE and NCCER Welding both work in schools; your state’s credential list decides which ones count.
2. Who teaches it. Every state has an industry route for experienced welders. North Carolina also requires the teacher to pass AWS weld tests or hold a welding inspector or educator certification.
3. The lab. Welding labs need booths, fume extraction and fire protection, and ventilation is the item most likely to need infrastructure money.
4. Whether students weld on job sites before 18. North Carolina and Pennsylvania bar minors from welding outside apprenticeship, student-learner or approved arrangements. Michigan and Missouri limit welding only for those under 16.

Where the states differ most

Items are labeled Confirmed, Confirm with the agency, or Changing. Last checked October 2, 2026.

Jobs and pay

Welding jobs are projected to grow fastest in Arizona and to shrink in Michigan

Projected change in welder jobs (SOC 51-4121), 2024 to 2034

Show the numbers

State	Projected change, 2024 to 2034
Arizona	+17.8%
North Carolina	+6.2%
Virginia	+4.6%
Missouri	+4.4%
Pennsylvania	+3.7%
Hawaii	+1.5%
Michigan	−2.4%
United States	+2.2%

Welding demand differs sharply by state. Arizona’s projected growth is about eight times the national rate; Michigan is projected to lose welding jobs and welders are not on Michigan’s 2026 Hot 50 list. Openings still exist in every state because workers retire and leave the trade, so check regional demand with local employers before you decide.

Wages are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics state file (Welders, Cutters, Solderers and Brazers, SOC 51-4121). Confirm with the agency whether Welding Technologies is on Arizona’s 2026-27 regional in-demand list for CTED funding in your region.

Credentials students can earn

Welding has no state license, so the credential is what tells an employer what a graduate can do. Two national systems are built for schools, and a third tests welders directly.

AWS inspector and educator certifications (CWI and CWE) require years of work experience, so they are credentials for teachers, not students.

What each state counts

Missouri’s rule means a Missouri program needs access to an AWS-certified teacher or inspector to approve a student weld. Plan for this when you hire, or arrange it with a partner.

Working with minors

For the full federal and state rules, a task-by-task decision path and a student-learner agreement template, see Working with Minors in CTE Pathways.

Federal rules

No federal hazardous occupations order covers welding as such. Two task-based orders reach common welding-shop work, and both allow a student-learner or apprentice exemption:

The exemption requires a written agreement, work incidental to training, and close supervision. It never covers lifts, cranes or forklifts (HO 7).

State rules

The practical effect: in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, any job-site welding by a minor needs one of the approved arrangements in place before the first day. In Michigan, keep job-site welding to students who are 16 or older.

Who can teach

Every state lets an experienced welder teach on an industry-based route. North Carolina is the only state found that requires the teacher to prove welding skill with AWS tests or an AWS inspector or educator certification.

Instructor certifications worth funding

Even where it is not required, an AWS Certified Welding Educator (CWE) or Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) credential lets the teacher approve student welds for Missouri’s credential and signals competence to employers. Both require years of welding experience and an exam. NCCER instructor certification is needed if you teach NCCER Welding. The Staffing toolkit covers recruiting and pay.

Program, curriculum and lab

A welding program needs state CTE program approval like any other pathway. No second regulator approves it. The Approvals toolkit lists each state’s process and deadlines.

The lab

Ventilation and fire safety drive the welding lab’s design. OSHA’s welding standard (29 CFR 1910.252) sets the baseline employers follow, and it points to the national welding safety standard, ANSI Z49.1:

• Ventilation. At least 2,000 cubic feet per minute per welder in small or low-ceiling spaces, or local exhaust hoods that pull at least 100 feet per minute at the weld.
• Fire watch. Required when combustibles are within 35 feet, and kept for 30 minutes after welding stops.
• Separation. North Carolina’s school facility guidelines call for exhaust and for welding to be physically separated from woodworking, in a lab of 1,600 to 2,000 square feet (advisory).

OSHA standards protect employees, not students, but your teacher is an employee in most of the seven states (see the Facilities toolkit). Plan booths, fume extraction, a fire-rated layout and gas cylinder storage with your facilities staff before you buy equipment. Equipment funds rarely cover the ventilation: Michigan’s 61v grant bars ventilation updates and Arizona puts infrastructure costs on the recipient, while Missouri’s Enhancement Grant pays 50% of renovation.

Curriculum

AWS SENSE and NCCER Welding both supply a full sequence. Choose the one your state’s credential list and local employers favor, and check that it covers the state program standards. The Curriculum toolkit has a review rubric.

Credit after high school

Apprenticeship

High school welding leads into registered apprenticeships in welding and in trades that weld, such as pipefitting, ironwork and boilermaking. Federal standards let apprentices start at 16. The Electrical guide lists each state’s apprenticeship registrar. Ask the local union training centers and contractor programs what they credit from high school welding.

Academic credit

Check the Curriculum toolkit before awarding academic credit for welding, and confirm that any substitution still meets state university admission requirements.

Launch steps

Work through these steps in order; several can run at the same time.

Review status and sources

Last checked October 2, 2026. These items are open for reviewers:

1. Virginia. Welding entries on the Board-approved credential list (the official list could not be opened).
2. Michigan. The CTEIS credential list for 48.0508; renewal of the Mott agreement; terms of the Northern Michigan and Gogebic agreements.
3. North Carolina. Credentials and post-assessments by welding course; grade and score conditions for articulation.
4. Arizona. Whether Welding Technologies is on the 2026-27 regional in-demand list in each region.
5. Pennsylvania. Whether NOCTI Job Ready Welding (4372) is the 2026-27 end-of-program assessment; the SOAR revision.
6. Missouri. Any welding-specific instructor rules beyond the general certificate.
7. Hawaii. Any state credential list; college articulation for welding.
8. No state welder license. Confirmed for Pennsylvania; not found in the other six.

Sources

Jobs and pay

• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state file) and Projections Central
• Michigan Hot 50 Job Outlook through 2034
• ADE, 2026-2027 Regional In-Demand Programs

Credentials

• AWS SENSE, AWS Certified Welder, AWS CWI, AWS CWE
• NCCER, Welding
• CTE Resource Center, Welding I
• ADE CTE credential list
• NOCTI Job Ready Welding blueprint
• DESE Previous System IRC guidance (February 2026)
• CTEIS state-approved credentials

Working with minors

• 13 NCAC 12 .0406
• PA DLI, Child Labor Law Prohibitions
• A.R.S. 23-235
• Code of Virginia Title 40.1 Ch. 5
• Michigan youth employment rules, R 408.6201 to 408.6209
• RSMo 294.040
• HAR 12-25
• 29 CFR 570.59 (HO 8) and 570.65 (HO 14)

Instructors

• NC DPI CTE Licensure Manual (2024)
• 8VAC20-23-50
• ADE Welding Technologies program description and R7-2-612
• PDE CIP 48.0508 document
• DESE, Become a Certified Career Education Teacher
• MDE Annual Career Authorization
• HTSB permits and license types

Program, lab and credit

• ADE Welding Technologies and NC CTE CMS, Welding pathway
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.252 and Public Schools of NC Facilities Guidelines
• Mott Community College statewide welding agreement and Schoolcraft College agreement
• NCCCS High School to Community College Articulation (edited March 2026)
• PDE Programs of Study SOAR
• Honolulu Community College, Welding