To assess the status of welding in various manufacturing industries and to ascertain the occupational preparation needed for welding tradesmen, technicians, and technologists, completed questionnaires were obtained from 138 selected industrial specialists. The hypotheses were tested by Freidman's two-way nonparametric analysis of variance and by chi square. Some conclusions were: (1) A great need exists for welding technicians and technologists to receive training in related information areas, (2) 27 content items rated as unimportant could be removed from preemployment training programs for tradesmen, (3) Flux shielded metal electric arc welding, inert gas shielded metal arc welding, inert gas shielded tungsten arc welding, oxy-fuel gas cutting, oxyacetylene welding, and blue print reading should be included in all preparatory programs for welding tradesmen, (4) Inert gas shielded metal arc welding, inert gas shielded tungsten arc welding, flux shielded metal electrode arc welding, and blue print reading should be included in all preparatory programs for welding technicians, (5) Gas welding processes should be included in all programs designed to prepare welding technologists for employment. (DM)