Connecticut Technical Education and Career System provides welding and metal fabrication education through secondary technical programs at Bristol TEC, Grasso Tech and Cheney Tech, a one-year 900-hour full-time adult pathway at Bristol TEC, and adult manufacturing and welding extension training at Bristol, Kaynor and Norwich. Students learn Stick, MIG, TIG and Flux-Core welding, oxyfuel and plasma cutting, blueprint interpretation, layout, fabrication and pipe-welding fundamentals. Secondary students receive 540 trade hours annually and prepare for national certification tests in grades 11 and 12; Bristol's intensive pathway makes completers eligible for AWS-standard testing.