Craft Instructor

Craft Instructor

Location: Abbeville, LA

Employment Type: Full-time

Job Summary

The Craft Instructor delivers ACI’s established welding and fitting curriculum through hands-on and classroom training for new hires, helpers, and developing craft personnel, preparing them to perform structural and pipe work to ACI standards across fabrication, construction, offshore, pipeline, and marine scopes. The Instructor also assists with setting up the curriculum and training program and keeping it current as codes, procedures, client requirements, and field needs change. This role combines proven journey-level welding and fitting skill with a working understanding of how ACI and its clients build and inspect work, so that training reflects real shop and field conditions, codes, and quality expectations. The Welding and Fitting Instructor administers welder qualification testing, evaluates trainee progress against defined competencies, and supports the enterprise learning system (ABLE University) and craft career pathways. The position works within the Organizational Development & Training function and in close coordination with shop superintendents, foremen, and QA/QC. This position is non-exempt (Hourly).  Acadian Contractors, Inc. maintains a continuing policy of non-discrimination in employment. It is our policy to provide equal opportunity to protected veterans in all phases of the employment process and in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. This policy of non-discrimination shall include, but not be limited to, the following employment decisions and practices: hiring; promotions; demotions or transfers; layoffs; recalls; terminations; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; selection for training, including apprenticeship; and recruitment or recruitment advertising. All employment decisions are based only on valid job requirements.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Training Delivery:
• Teach ACI’s established welding and fitting curriculum as designed, following approved lesson plans, sequence, practical exercises, and competency checklists
• Deliver hands-on welding instruction in SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, and GTAW for structural and pipe applications, from fundamentals through all-position work
• Deliver fitting instruction covering layout, measuring, drawing and isometric reading, pipe trade math, fit-up techniques, and use of fitting aids and torches
• Teach weld symbols, WPS interpretation, preheat and interpass requirements, distortion control, and visual inspection criteria
• Teach shop and field practices as ACI performs them, including material traceability, heat numbers, welder stencils, and QC hold points
• Coach trainees in booths, at fit-up stations, and on production work; demonstrate correct technique and correct errors in real time
• Adapt instruction for new hires, helpers progressing to junior roles, and experienced craft upgrading to new processes or positions.
• Testing, Qualification & Evaluation:
• Prepare test coupons and administer welder qualification tests per the governing WPS and ACI testing procedures
• Perform visual examination of test welds and coordinate bend testing, radiography, or other required examination with QA/QC and outside labs
• Document welder qualification results (WPQ records) and maintain continuity records in coordination with QA/QC
• Evaluate trainee skill against defined competencies at each career pathway stage (Helper, Junior Welder/Fitter, journey-level) and recommend advancement readiness
• Provide feedback on struggling trainees and design remediation plans with foremen and superintendents
• Curriculum Setup & Maintenance:
• Assist with setting up the welding and fitting curriculum and training program, including organizing modules, lesson materials, practical exercises, test plates, and competency checklists for use in the training area
• Assist with establishing the training area layout, equipment, and material needs required to run the curriculum as designed
• Keep the curriculum up to date: review content on a regular schedule and recommend updates when WPSs, codes, client specifications, equipment, or ACI procedures change
• Identify content gaps using trainee results, QA/QC feedback (repair rates, NCR/CAR trends), and production feedback from shop and field leadership, and submit recommended revisions
• Draft updated lesson materials, exercises, and checklists as assigned and route them for review and approval before use
• Maintain version control so only current, approved curriculum materials are in use in the training area
• Support alignment of the curriculum with ABLE University, craft career pathways, and competency assessments for welding and fitting roles
• Training Facility, Safety & Records:
• Maintain the welding and fitting training area, welding machines, booths, ventilation, and equipment in safe working condition; report deficiencies and needs
• Manage training consumables, test material, filler metals, and gases; follow filler metal storage and issue controls
• Enforce safe work practices, PPE use, hot work, and fume control in the training area; model safe behavior at all times
• Maintain accurate training attendance, evaluation, and qualification records and submit them to the Training Department
• Coordinate training schedules with the Training Department, superintendents, and foremen to minimize production impact
• Additional duties as directed by Supervisor

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of journey-level welding and fitting experience in industrial fabrication, construction, offshore, or pipeline work.
• Proficiency in SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, and GTAW processes, with demonstrated ability to pass structural and pipe qualification tests in all positions (6G preferred).
• Demonstrated structural and pipe fitting ability: layout, drawing and isometric interpretation, pipe trade math (takeoffs, offsets, rolling offsets), and fit-up to tolerance.
• Working knowledge of AWS D1.1, ASME Section IX, and ASME B31.3 requirements, WPS/PQR/WPQ documentation, weld symbols, and visual inspection acceptance criteria.
• Understanding of ACI’s industry and work: shop fabrication, field construction, offshore platforms, and client quality and inspection expectations.
• AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) or Certified Welding Educator (CWE) preferred; NCCER Instructor Certification preferred.
• Prior experience training, mentoring, or leading craft personnel strongly preferred; experience helping build or revise training materials a plus.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to learners of varied experience levels; bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred
• Basic computer skills for training records, evaluations, and reporting.
• Must be able to work overtime and travel as required between shops, field locations, and training sites.

HSE Responsibilities

• Embrace, lead, and demonstrate “Acadian F.I.R.S.T.” – Vision & Mission Statement as fundamental core values.
• Demonstrate implementation of proactive safety processes (JSA, Time Out & TEAM BBS Observations) to achieve an incident-free workplace and advance our safety culture.
• Adhere to all Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) Management System policies, procedures, best practices, and client-specific site policies.
• Make a personal commitment and be accountable for HSE results, supporting team members through coaching and mentoring to achieve goals.
• Accept coaching and demonstrate ownership and improvement of HSE processes based on feedback and ongoing mentorship.