Gentlemen and Ladies, I find myself at somewhat of a crossroads, in a manner of speaking.  I have welders, about a dozen of them, and they need more training than I have time (and sometimes patience) to give.  So I am seeking options for getting my guys some professional education.  A brief outline of my needs:

- Prefer to have this training in-house (San Antonio, TX, 78211)
- Training to be semiannual, or possibly quarterly; depends on price and class length/content
- Our processes include GMAW (solid wire, all aluminum and mild steel), GTAW (aluminum, alloy steels, stainless) and SMAW (mild steel only)
- Lesson topics to be considered include safety, materials (gases, electrodes, base metals, etc.), equipment, cleaning methods, techniques, acceptance standards and common defect recognition with prevention and correction methods, welding symbol interpretation, hands-on demonstrations as often as possible; annual knowledge written exam
- It is possible that the GTAW welders will undergo different training from what the GMAW guys receive; not sure about this yet

I have spent the last 4 years building our process capabilities, and my goal now is to keep it up to snuff.  The problem is, as we keep hiring more welders, it takes longer; and with the increased workload in the last year or so I must spend more time in other areas.  So any help or advice is much appreciated.

I would appreciate all replies and suggestions to be posted here, so I have it all in one place.  Thanks, all.

Curt