IIW History 1948-1958

COMMISSION XIV

WELD! G lNSTRUCTlON

S. P ANDERSEN No rway.

i . CONSTITUTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE.

The study of problems raised by trainina a nd qualification at all leYel:o appea rs explicit!~- among the aims of the II\\' as exp ressed in its Constitution. H o"·eyer, it \YaS only in June 1950 that the Governing Council decided to set up a Cornnii ssion \Yith special responsibility fo r th is subj ect. Professor POR'l'.E\TX (France) was provisionally appointed Chairman of the Commission and he then approached the member societies with a view to the appointment of delegates, who held their first meetings at the Oxford Assembly i n July r95r. The Commission was finally constituted during these meetings a ncl its terms of reference defined on t he basis of a memorandum prepared by the Scientific a nd Technical Secretariat. The \\'O rk of the Commi ssion is concentrated on two principal subj ects, teachi ng on t he one h and and qualification on the other. From the beginning it \YaS apparent that, \1·hateYer level is considered (e ngineers, \·vhether welding specialists or not, fo remen, instructors, operators, etc.), these two subjects cannot be treated separat ely . Whatever recommendations may be made regarding syllabuses, instructional methods, or the preparation of handbooks or films, the teaching of welding ca n only be considered in relation to the level of the qualifi– cations wh ich \1·ill 1 e obtained by those \Yho undergo instruction. Conversely, it has been agreed that problems relating to c1ualification (defi nition of the degree of kno\Yledge required, rules and t est s fo r qualificat ion, etc.) should only be included in t he business of the Commission in so far as the study of these su bjects affect:; the organisation of in truction a nd the establishment of syl– labuses.