FIND ANOTHER SCHOOL. I emphatically disapprove of this "school". My husband and I spent $5000 there for our son to learn welding there. Total mistake/waste. George is disrespectful and belittles and doesn't teach in a thorough/beneficial manner. If you are of Hispanic descent, you might have a more favorable experience (hence the couple of good reviews). read more

I had a great experience here. Mariana and George were the instructors/administrators for my certification test. Both are knowledgeable and professional. The facility is clean, well organized, safe, and easy to find. I highly recommend Advance Weldtec for anyone looking for a place to complete a certification exam. It's great to know there are still professionals like Mariana And George in this world. Thanks Weldtec! read more

My name is Bobby Brown and I work for a construction division of a major city. My former position was a Reinforcing Steel Worker (Rebar) and I wanted to promote to Structural Steel Fabricator. I had some knowledge of welding but needed someone to help me fill in the blanks, bring me up to par and get certified. Upon researching, I found George Rolla the owner of Advanced Weldtec Inc. His no nonsense and professional approach assured me that he isn't just about the money rather, he wants his time to count and for his students to succeed. By the end of my 80 hrs of training plus 10 hr crash course for the written test, my technique was refined, I became an ambidextrous welder, my familiarity with shop equipment and tools was enhanced, I was certified and my confidence went through the roof! Additionally, I later passed the written test on the first try! The end result is that I performed exceedingly well on my job interview and performance test for the new position. I'll never forget when I got the phone call offering me the job for "Structural Steel Fabricator" with a starting salary of $100,000 plus overtime! This is not about me bragging about myself because truthfully, without all the help I received I couldn't have done it. Rather, I'm here saying that no matter what level you're at and what your goals are, if you're serious, motivated, humble/teachable and have the money/time, Advanced Weldtec can help you reach your target and I give my highest recommendation! read more

Pathetic Just because you think you know something doesn't mean you can teach it. And if you are not out working with people in the industry, there is probably a reason.... Spent a lot of money to have this guy "teach". I got robbed. Maybe time for him to take a class on social interaction. Or has about a class to learn how to teach. Don't chew me out for stuff I don't know....isn't this a "class"? HE HAD NO PATIENCE! Would NOT recommend this place. Paid for a private class, but he kept leaving to teach someone else across the room. read more

This was a perfect situation for me. No nonsense straight to the point. I own and operate my shade structure business Got Shade. I needed a fast turn around. I got it at Advance Weld Tech. George is a guy from the field. He takes time to explain the little things that will stay with you for ever. Things like " slow down I am in a hurry!" You might as well learn the little things that he had to figure out himself a long time ago. This is what you are paying for! Soak it up. It's not easy. I messed up a lot. I stuck with it and passed. Thanks George. read more

Advanced Weldtec - Vocational & Technical School Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

I signed up with Mariana to prepare for my CWI Part B. Mariana has been super responsive with emails and has been always so nice about answering all of my questions over the phone. Everything Mariana told me about the session was true - super intense and thorough. I wished I knew about George's training program before my first attempt at the exam! He does not allow any short cuts and his classes are intense. He goes through the code book line by line until you understand them. If you are studying for Part B, it is a good idea to be familiar with the Book of Specification before you even start your class. That way you can ask questions and not miss anything. I liked how the group size was kept fairly small (about 6 or 7) so you can work on the tools and felt like you were still getting tutored privately. He provides a comfortable environment where questions are welcomed. I appreciate his thoroughness and his deep knowledge in this field. He is a fantastic teacher who is genuinely interested in helping the students. Towards the end of the program, I could tell he was losing his voice and feeling a bit under the weather. However, that did not deter him from making sure we went through the practice exam questions even if that meant going over his hours. I really admired his passion and dedication for teaching. read more

I signed up here for a weld test ($375) + on day of training to help pass the weld test ($475) and boy did I have a bad experience. The owner here is the instructor, test taker and everything else in between and out of an 8 hour training day i got about 45 minutes of actual instruction, the majority of time not spent welding is waiting for him to be done with someone else and it's very frustrating because it cast almost $500 a day and you want to get your money's worth. The owner/instructor is also a plain jerk and rather spend time telling you how much your welding sucks, that you're trying to take shortcuts in life and that your chosen brand of equipment also sucks and how every other school sucks, he's a very negative guy and has napoleon syndrome too. Upon realizing that I wasn't ready to take my actual welding test I asked him if i could reschedule it for the following friday so i could get some practice in and he said "no problem", but when I mentioned that practice would be at my work and not his shop that cost $500 a day, he changed his mind and said I had to take the test the next day or I would loose my $375 because he canceled other appointments for me and was busy etc. Next day when I showed up it was literally just me and one other gentleman (who was also disappointed by the end of the day) taking general training. He also tried to keep me from even taking the test so I wouldn't waste steel coupons (test plates). This leads me to my other complaint: This guy is stingy with the materials he provides to you for practice, he'll make you practice and same same used up plate over and over which sucks because the plate get too hot to get any real results. At the end of the day I welded up my test and asked him if he could inspect it (to see if i was going to be certified) but he made me wait about an hour and a half to tell me that he wasn't going to be able to do it until next week, i was irked and accepted it and left the shop but not 15 minutes after I had left (about the time it take him to test the coupons) i get a text message from him showing my failed plate. I asked him "didn't you say you had something to do and couldn't get to it 'till monday?" he responded with all sorts of obscenities so i replied and told him i had nothing more to say on the matter and deleted the text. The following week I called a few local shops and funny thing was that before I even mentioned advanced weldtec one guy already knew I had been there because of my story, apparently this guy has a bad reputation and the guy at the other weld shop said: "i always get Weltecs' customers after they get fed up with the owner there. Now i'm not perfect either and I did a few dumb things: 1. showed up with my grinders without guards 2. failed to buy some of the equipment on the list (i brought 2lb sledge instead of a ball peen) 3. I smoked my Ecig on the property which is apparently against the rules. But everything aforementioned is 100% true. My advice: shop around for another good school (there are many choices) or if you have time, go to a community college, but avoid weldtec like the plague!!! read more

I signed up worked hard and got certified. George even helped me get a job. Had a great experience here and got what I wanted in the end. If you serious about a welder career or even just wanna learn how then this is the place to go. Travis read more

Just passed my CWI ! I attended this school for my AWS CWI training , and Mariana and George were very helpful and professional. George taught the seminar which covered all aspects of the exam. I am a Steamfitter/Pipe Welder , and I had finished a big job so with some time off I decided to pursue my CWI. My only recommendation is to not rush .I gave myself only about 2.5 months to study for the exam including the seminar from Advanced Weldtech, and the AWS seminar which this school hosted the week of the exam as well. I missed passing the exam by 1 question!!. I retested the part B portion 2 months later which was allowed because my overall average was an 84%, and I did much better and am now a CWI. Read the aws email carefully about the BOS and study it a lot, and if you can get your books early and read them front to back before you even show up to the seminar with Advanced Weldtech (California Welding Institute) you should do well. I studied everyday all day and read every piece of literature front to back, along with great instruction from George for the Part B, I felt very prepared. Mariana also helps with setting you up with the AWS digital learning modules which as mentioned before, start months before your exam and seminars. Those can be helpful for attacking topics you might not be familiar with . I would recommend this school to anyone pursuing their CWI or any sort of welding training . read more

Went in for a practice test . All I can say that George is a great instructor. I definitely got my money's worth . Great place to learn .

I have trained with Advanced Weldtec (California Welding Institute) in the past so this review is with reference to recent training as well as past training. I recently trained with Advanced Weldtec for my 9-Year CWI renewal (via AWS D17.1, Aerospace Welding Code, endorsement). I spent a day going over the significant details of each section and key areas which requirements will diverge. George worked with me from morning to the evening (with lunch break). We were conducting nearly 100% specification and weld industry discussion and training the entire day and did not lose focus of our goal. We were able to touch every section of the specification in a single day. I had already worked with studied the specification (AWS D17.1) for work prior and went home to study and review the specification more a couple hours several times a week for a month prior to the exam. I passed my exam thanks to Advanced Weldtec. My original CWI certification (with respect to AWS D1.1, structural steel welding code) training was also done with Advanced Weldtec 9 years prior. We were able to review all 3 parts of the CWI exam over several weekends in a group of 7 people. We reviewed the D1.1 welding code, welding inspection general knowledge textbook (Welding Inspection Technology) and practical inspection techniques required for the exam. Advanced Wedtec has the similar inspection models used on the actual exam and we were able to go over all materials related to the exam without any surprises. In comparison, I also attended the week long seminar the AWS offers the same week of the exam. The seminar from AWS did not cover as much material as Advanced Weldtec due to time constraints. The AWS seminar is 5 days and my training at Advanced Wedtec was 3 full weekends. Also, you cannot study for a 6 hour certification exam very well during the same week of the exam. A candidate needs to study many weeks prior to the exam, read the entire text of ("Welding Inspection Technology") cover to cover and review all sections of the corresponding welding code used for the exam. I took my Advanced Weldtec training over 3 weekends two months prior to the exam. Then I studied at home after work (several days a week) one month prior to the exam. I passed the exam and I am a certified welding inspector for over 9 years, now. I have had coworkers take training with Advanced Weldtec in the past also. If you are training and taking any classes with Advanced Weldtec, be prepared and arrive to the training prepared. Do not arrive at your training missing materials or documentation and without any knowledge of what you are going to study. Some friends and coworkers have also trained with Advanced Wedtec for the CWI exam but not all have passed. Some have not studied on their own enough and some did not prepare adequately. Most candidates in my study group have passed the exam. You should be willing to work hard during your training and Advanced Weldtec will keep up with you and help you greatly. read more

I was a student at advanced weldtec in 2011. I went through the training for the structural steel D1.1 certification. The owner and instructor George Rolla was offering everything I was looking for. All the training without the college. If your serious about a welding career and don't want to drag it out in community college this is the place to go. For my personal experience George never left my side. The amount of effort he put in to teaching me will never be forgotten. The lessons and techniques he taught me I still use to this day. George will train you hard and he won't let you slack off but once in the field and on your own you will thank him. I now own and operate my own welding truck and a small welding and maintenance company. I still keep in touch with George and he guides me when I need help. For me advanced weldtec is more then a school it's a family. I can call George anytime and I know he will be there for me. read more

I needed to take over as QC inspector for our company's LA Fabricator Certificate renewal. I reached out to George Rolla over the phone and told him my situation. He explained everything I needed to do to get my preparation started, and luckily he was able to fit me in just a few days later to start. From the first session, it was obvious right away George was the right man to teach someone from zero background and knowledge in welding to passing the QC exam with flying colors with only 4 sessions (I ended up scoring an 82% on the exam and only 70% is needed to pass). The city inspector was thoroughly impressed by my knowledge of steel welding when all I was going for was a QC certification in aluminum. This is serious hard nosed pull up your sleeves teaching. I owe my success to George and his deep knowledge, experience and talent in teaching his craft to anyone with the will, motivation and work ethic to learn. There are no short cuts in life, but George will help you draw the straightest path possible to your goal without wasting anyone's time. He always takes the time to stop the lesson to answer any questions and make any clarifications to the subject material. He guides you through the code books, and teaches you how to expertly navigate them to look for the information you need within seconds, so that you learn and research from the authoritative sources, not your garage buddies, YouTube videos or shady websites. After taking George's class with 110% seriousness and effort, you will become an authority in welding &/or inspections in no time. George also offers an array of other types of welding & inspection courses, inspection program development, as well as testing services, and fabrication of testing equipment for your own shop. Thanks again George!!! read more