EXETER — Seacoast School of Technology recently welcomed Joseph Biladeau as the new instructor for its two-year welding and fabrication program.
Biladeau, a graduate of SST’s building construction and welding programs, holds a degree in welding technology from Manchester Community College, has extensive welding experience from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, served as a welder/fabricator at GE Aviation and has instructing experience from Great Bay Community College.
“We’re delighted to bring Joe on board as our new welding instructor,” said Sharon Wilson, principal at SST. “Part of what makes our program successful is the fact that our instructors have real-world experience to add to their individual teaching styles. This combination enriches our students’ experience and helps make them job-ready while also being eligible to earn credits that will transfer to a local community college.”
SST is a career and technical education center located in Exeter that serves high school students in several seacoast communities and focuses on hands-on, real world learning that applies directly to a job or career. Programs focus on 12 areas, including welding.
The SST Welding Technologies program teaches students the basic techniques of brazing, soldering, blueprint reading and electricity. In the first year of the program, students discover their niche and learn workplace safety. In the second year of the program, students begin working with different alloys like aluminum and stainless steel as well as learning different welding techniques and positions.
“SST is where I first learned about welding,” Biladeau said. “As a high school senior, I didn’t have a plan for the future, but the welding program greatly influenced my direction, which led me to pursue a career in welding. I am excited to return to SST as the new welding instructor and look forward to teaching at the high school level.”
The welding program at SST also serves as a functioning metal fabrication and repair shop. Students complete actual jobs for members of the Seacoast community. A few recent projects include rotisserie racks for local restaurants, a TRX bar for the Exeter YMCA and evidence lockers for a local police department.
Graduates of the program are prepared for real-world jobs in metal fabrication, manufacturing and repair. At the end of the two-year program, graduates have enough skills to take certification tests in Shielded Metal Arch Welding, Metal Inert Gas Welding and Tungsten Inert Gas Welding.
To learn more about the welding program at SST, call Sarah Boddy-Snee at (603) 775-8464, email [email protected] or visit sst.sau16.org.
