10 Online Welding Courses
We’ve selected some of the best online welding courses designed to equip you with basic to advanced welding technology, techniques, and processes, so you can enter the world of welding with confidence. Some programs will also run through welding safety precautions to help manage hazards and risks at work. Read on to learn more.
1. Welding Safety
Welding can trigger a cascade of health and safety issues. If not handled and performed correctly, it can cause minor burns and cuts or even long-term illnesses like lung and skin cancer and nerve damage. With this in mind, SC Training (formerly EdApp) has put together a microlearning course on Welding Safety, exploring the most common welding hazards and the best protective measures that you and your team can adopt to minimize them. Here, you’ll learn about the top welding hazards, such as electric shock, gas exposure, and noise-induced hearing loss, and how they may be present in your workplace. It will also guide you through the steps of selecting the appropriate personal protective equipment, and, most importantly, how to use them properly. Aside from welding safety measures, this course will also discuss the fundamentals of welding, its applications in the general industry, and how it differs from other metal-joining procedures.
At the end of this course you will find a glossary, which can be used as a reference should you find yourself having difficulty understanding the terms used within the lessons.
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
Scope: Welding hazards, PPE for welding, fundamentals of welding, and welding application
Created By SC Training (formerly EdApp)
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2. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Construction
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) serves as the first line of defense against occupational risks, including those seen in the welding industry. So, SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Construction course lays out the steps on how to properly use and maintain different types of PPE, including hard hats, safety glasses, safety-toed boots, gloves, and other welding equipment. This course even includes an overview of the potential workplace hazards welders are most likely to encounter, and the type of PPE needed to avoid them. It also explores different hearing conservation methods to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, which is common in welding activities like stick welding and pipe welding. Overall, insights from this course will help both workers and employers maximize the use of the right PPE for their job and the proper way to put it on and maintain it for long-term use.
The best thing about this PPE course is that it’s short and digestible. Following a microlearning design model, expect a bite-sized bit of information that you can easily follow and understand. This course can also be completed in just a short period of time – not days or weeks.
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
Scope: How to properly use PPE, types of PPE, potential workplace hazards, and hearing conservation methods
Created by SC Training (formerly EdApp)
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3. Basics of Welding and Joining Technologies
This online welding course by Alison offers an introduction on how to weld and the key principles of welding and the joining process, welding classification, and welding energy sources. Its primary goal is to provide new welders with a solid understanding of this metal joining process, although it can also be used as a refresher for seasoned workers who wish to brush up on their welding knowledge. This training also explores welding positions, the difference between welding and other metal joining processes, such as soldering and brazing, and how they can play a role in achieving smooth and perfect welding results. As you go through the course, you'll also learn about the benefits of welding, as well as the challenges and limitations of applying this metal joining method. This course will take about 2-3 hours to complete, and it is completely free of charge.
Cost: Free
Scope: Principles of welding and the joining process, welding classification, welding energy sources, soldering and brazing, and welding challenges
Created by Alison
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4. Understanding Welding Symbols
Welding symbols and prints can help you weld metal and gain control over your welding project, and therefore achieve better and smoother outcomes. With this in mind, it goes without saying that anyone involved in welding should know how to read and interpret these symbols. American Welding Society offers an in-depth course about Understanding Welding Symbols, discussing the basic components of welding prints as well as tips to read and interpret common weld symbols. It will also teach you how to distinguish the different types of welds and their respective symbols, and how to construct a welding symbol using an arrow, a reference line, and supplementary symbols.
This online welding course employs different interactive elements, such as audio narration, animated graphics, and practice problems, to ensure higher engagement from its learners.
Cost: $415 USD
Scope: Basic components of welding prints and symbols, reading and interpreting welding symbols, different types of welding and their respective symbols, and how to construct welding symbol
Created by American Welding Society
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5. Oxyfuel Operations
Through this online welding course by TPC, learners are expected to learn more about the process of oxyfuel welding and cutting, which, unlike traditional gas welding and cutting, involves the use of oxygen and fuel gas. Enrolling in this course will equip you and your team with a thorough understanding of the general standard procedures for making smooth welds out of oxyfuel, and how this technique differs from other metal joining processes, such as arc and braze welding, torch brazing, oxyacetylene welding, and robotic welding. This lesson also outlines the safety precautions that must be taken when welding or cutting metals using the oxyfuel process. Carefully following these guidelines can go a long way in preventing the risk of wounds, crushed toes and fingers, burns, and eye injuries, which are very common in oxyfuel operations. This course is available in either a course manual or an online course and test format.
Cost: $57 - $85 USD
Scope: Oxyfuel welding and cutting process, how oxyfuel differs from other metal joining processes, and metal welding safety precautions
Created by TPC
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6. Welding Fumes and Gases Safety 121
Welding emits visible smoke containing hazardous base metal fumes and welding gas, which can lead to serious health problems like acute and chronic illnesses if inhaled by workers. The Welding Fumes and Gases Safety 121 course by Tooling U-SME examines potentially toxic metals and gases involved in welding like acetylene, and how they can be managed through engineering controls, ventilation, and proper PPE. This course also discusses the fume control regulations and the exposure limits set by OSHA and other involved organizations, as well as how adhering to them can drastically reduce potential health and safety dangers in welding. This course can be taken and completed at your own pace as it comes 100% online.
Cost: Available upon request
Scope: Welding fume and gas generation, preventing exposure through engineering controls, ventilation, and proper PPE, and fume control regulations and the exposure limits by OSHA
Created by Tooling U-SME
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7. Welding, Cutting, and Brazing Safety
OSHAcademy’s Welding, Cutting, and Brazing Safety course comes with a series of online modules designed to introduce new welders and brush up the knowledge of experienced workers on the hazards of welding pipe, cutting, and brazing activities. This course covers various types of welding operations like TIG welding and MIG welding, dangers of exposure to hazardous gases and metals like carbon monoxide and tungsten, and applicable OSHA safety standards, including the right use of personal protective equipment. Having a sound understanding of these topics will equip you with a proactive mindset when engaging in these potentially hazardous activities, allowing you to weld, cut, and braze efficiently through different steels while avoiding injuries. This training is free and easily accessible using any browser, or even a mobile device. The main drawback, however, is that the format of this course appears to be a little out of date, and the safety training videos included in the modules aren't exactly updated.
Cost: Free
Scope: Hazards of welding, cutting, and brazing, various types of welding operations, harms of overexposure to welding gases, and relevant OSHA standards
Created by OSHAcademy
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8. Shielded Metal Arc Welding
Conveniently lightweight and portable, shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) has been recognized as one of the most preferred welding processes of today. Perhaps you’re interested in using this equipment to weld your workpiece? Get started by taking this online welding course by 360training. Here, you’ll be introduced to the basics of SMAW, including its advantages and disadvantages, the machinery components, and the use of this equipment on farms, construction sites, and industrial fabrication. This course will also discuss the basic gas metal arc welding process, electric arc, safe workpiece melting procedures, or filler-metal application without potentially harming yourself. Perfect for learners with shorter attention spans, this training can be completed in just 30 minutes. A welding certification is also available after your training completion, which you can share with your colleagues and potential employers.
Cost: $20 USD
Scope: Basics of shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), SMAW advantages and disadvantages, equipment components, and shielded metal arc welding process
Created by 360training
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9. Destructive Testing Methods
Hobart Institute’s online welding course explores the use of destructive testing, a welding testing method that destroys consumable materials to gain insights about their strength and how they perform under pressure. It reviews the fundamentals of different destructive testing methods, such as tensile and impact tests, guided bend tests, and nick break tests. It also goes over the steps involved in conducting these defect tests. This metallurgy course is perfect for welders, engineers, inspectors, and quality control supervisors whose role involves performing welding tests and determining weld defects. If needed, you can take it along with Hobart Institute’s Nondestructive Testing Methods training, although you’ll have to pay an additional fee as it is offered as a separate compliance training resource.
Cost: $25 USD
Topics: Use of destructive testing, and how to conduct different destructive testing methods
Created by Hobart Institute
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10. OSHA for Workers (US only)
Following all the safety risks associated with welding, employers are mandated to protect their employees from any related hazards and provide them with a safe working environment. This SC Training (formerly EdApp) course introduces OSHA’s inspection requirements and health and safety standards, which employers and workers should always adhere to. It also goes into detail about workers’ rights and responsibilities, whistleblower protections, and the different ways that they can file a safety hazard complaint in the event of protocol breaches or non-compliance.
Trainers and employers planning to roll out this online welding course to their workforce can take advantage of SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s authoring tool to tweak and rebrand it. You can even add your logo, or welding policies and processes specific to your business, or even incorporate games and quizzes for higher learning engagement.
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
Scope: OSHA requirements, health and safety standards, workers’ rights and responsibilities
Created by SC Training (formerly EdApp)
Explore the courseWeld with confidence with online welding courses
Whether you’re a new worker gearing up to enter the world of welding, or an experienced welder aiming to further your skills and knowledge in this field, investing on the necessary welding training will help you succeed and get as far in the job market. Welding training programs will allow you and your colleagues to build a working knowledge of basic to advanced welding processes and operations, well-known welding tools, and techniques that will help sharpen your welding skills and competency. As welding falls under the category of hazardous construction activities, some training providers also include various welding safety precautions in their programs. This usually entails reading welding symbols, identifying significant risks, and wearing the right personal protective equipment (PPE), keeping the welding hazards to an absolute minimum. Thanks to the rise of online welding courses, taking your welding skills to higher levels has never been easier than ever before. Use our guide above to find the best online welding course for you. Make sure to check out the content scope, cost, and delivery mode of these courses to see if they meet your learning needs.