Great Bay Community College Opens New Welding Technologies Facility In Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Great Bay Community College has opened a new Welding Technologies facility at its Pease Tradeport campus in Portsmouth, giving students in the certificate program access to a larger lab with updated equipment.

The college said students enrolled in the program were welcomed into the new space in March.

The 3,500-square-foot lab was built as Great Bay works to expand capacity in response to growing interest in the program and employer demand for trained welders. Previously, the college's welding program operated out of leased space in Rochester.

“We began making plans in 2024 to expand our capacity for the Welding Technologies program to meet strong demand for skilled welders from area employers and are very excited that our students now have this amazing new learning environment,” Dr. Cheryl Lesser, president of GBCC, said.

According to the college, the new facility was designed to improve air quality and sound suppression and to support the handling of metal, gas, equipment, and consumable deliveries. The lab includes 18 welding stations and new equipment such as Miller Dynasty 300 Multi-Process Welders, a W-60-20 Straight Pipe Cutter, pipe-holding fixtures, and a Piranha tungsten-grinding unit that contains excess tungsten electrode dust.

“The new equipment has significantly enhanced our ability to teach more students in-demand skills such as plasma torch cutting and carbon arc gouging,” Paul Guiliano, GBCC’s Welding Technology program coordinator, said. “And in the future, we will add short-term training options.”

The Welding Technology program teaches students to set up and use equipment for MIG, TIG, Stick, Oxy-Fuel and Plasma welding, along with auxiliary processes. Great Bay said the curriculum also covers welding theory, blueprint reading, electricity and fabrication techniques. Students attend evening classes over three consecutive semesters and prepare for American Welding Society certification testing, which the college said most employers require.

The college cited American Welding Society projections indicating that 320,500 more welders will be needed by 2029 due to demand and retirements. Great Bay said the Seacoast Region's growing manufacturing sector has created a strong job market for program graduates.

Program credits may also be applied toward an associate degree in Technical Studies at GBCC. The college said students at many Seacoast high schools can also take Welding Technology and general education classes through its Early College program.

More information is available at GreatBay.edu.