Fort Erie, ON – Cappa College welding student José Tineo is showing what can happen when hands-on skilled trades training meets creativity, determination, and real shop experience.
José, an artist from Venezuela and a student in Cappa College’s welding program, recently created a nearly six-foot metal horse sculpture at the college’s Fort Erie campus. The project began as a classroom exercise using plasma torches, cutting tools, and scrap metal, before developing into a major student-made sculpture with support from classmates.
Before enrolling at Cappa College, José had experience in ceramics, bronze casting, drawing, and painting. Welding, however, was a new medium for him. Through the college’s hands-on training environment, he was able to apply his artistic background to metal fabrication while developing practical welding skills.
The project gave students experience in drawing, cutting, shaping, sanding, welding, and assembling metal components. It also showed how welding can lead to different career pathways, including industrial work, custom fabrication, metal art, and entrepreneurship.
Cappa College welding instructor Ben Nagy said the project helped students see the broader possibilities of the trade. “You don’t have to just be stuck in a factory welding. You can do a little bit of art too, just with a welder and some metal,” Nagy told Fort Erie Radio.
José’s work has since continued with another large-scale class project: an eight-foot metal face sculpture designed from student drawings and assembled at Cappa College’s Fort Erie campus.
For Cappa College, these projects reflect the value of hands-on learning. Students are not only learning welding theory — they are working with real tools, real materials, and real projects that build confidence and technical skill.
The college’s welding program is designed to prepare students for practical employment pathways, including preparation for Canadian Welding Bureau certification. Students also have opportunities to develop additional workplace skills, including equipment operation and shop safety.
José’s story is a reminder that skilled trades are not only about tools and technique. They are also about creativity, problem-solving, discipline, and building something real.
As Cappa College continues to expand skilled trades training in Fort Erie, student projects like José’s show what is possible when learners are given the equipment, instruction, and space to develop their skills.
In the News
Cappa College welding student José Tineo was featured in recent media coverage for his large-scale metal sculpture projects completed through hands-on training at the college’s Fort Erie campus.
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Newcomer’s welded equine beauty could grace Niagara school — Niagara Falls Review
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Venezuelan artist welds six-foot horse sculpture for Fort Erie trade school — Fort Erie Radio
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Fort Erie welding students craft 8-foot sculpture as OSAP cuts loom — Fort Erie Radio
