On March 24-25, 2023, “Best Young Welder of PG 2023” National Competition was held at “Nexas” EOOD industrial company. 20 students from 10 vocational high schools from all over the country took part in the competition. They were placed in a real competitive environment and demonstrated their acquired knowledge and practical skills.
The competition was held for the fourth consecutive year under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Science and with the assistance of the Bulgarian Welding Union.
Co-organizer and host of the contest for the 2nd time in a row was the company “Nexas” EOOD: http://neksas-bg.com/
The event was opened, and the participants and their teachers were greeted by the Secretary General of BSZ, eng. Pavel Popgeorgiev, Ms. Rositsa Ilieva, representative of the Ministry of Education and eng. Boyko Yordanov, manager of “Nexas”.
Students and teachers from the following successfully ranked vocational high schools took part in the competition http://neksas-bg.com/:
PG “Ivan Hadjienov”, Kazanlak
PG “St. Dimitar Thessalonica”, Beloslav
PGMEE, Burgas
PG “Stefan Karadzha”, Elhovo
PG “Acad. S.P. Korolev”, Dupnitsa
PGMET “Hristo Smirnenski, Knezha
PTG “Ivan Raynov”, Yambol
PGM, Sliven
PTG “Vasil Levski”, Gorna Oryahovitsa
PZHPT “N. Y. Vaptsarov”, Gorna Oryahovitsa.
The competition was held in 2 categories:
I. Welding skills competition
1. Manual electric arc welding MMA – process 111;
2. Electric arc welding in a protective gas environment with a melting metal electrode MIG/MAG – process 135.
II. Presentation of welded artistic composition on a pre-announced theme.
The ESAB welding consumables and consumables for this year’s competition were provided by the company “Kammarton” EOOD.
Panel of judges and the jury – highly qualified welding experts and inspectors, who are volunteers to the BSZ, observed safety and rules of conduct, as well as strict assessment of the abilities of young welders in Bulgaria.
Panel of judges
Chairman:
Dr. Eng. Svetlana Boshnakova IWE, IWI-C – “Lukoil Neftokhim” Burgas
Members:
Eng. Pavel Popgeorgiev, IWE, IWI-C, BSZ
Georgi Asenov – Welding technician, VT-II, BSZ
Evaluation team:
Eng. Boyko Yordanov, IWE, IWI-C, “Nexas” EOOD
Engineer Valentin Angelov, IWE, “Rina” EOOD
Eng. Georgi Dimitrov, IWE, “Euromarket Group” AD
Eng. Silvia Stoyanova, IWE, “EGT” EOOD
Eng. Petko Todorov, IWE, “KMS” EOOD
At the first stage, the overall performance of the students was evaluated according to a point system, pre-defined and approved criteria, among which: compliance with safety at work, maintenance of the workplace, correct welding of welding samples, welding technique and quality.
Awarded according to the respective methods were:
Process 135
1st place Mariyan Panayotov, “Stefan Karadzha” PG, Elhovo
2nd place Katrin Eftimova, PG “Ivan Hadjienov”, Kazanlak
3rd place Hakan Emin – XI class, PGMEE, Burgas
Process 111
1st place: Kristiyan Nikolov – XII grade, “Vasil Levski” PTG, Gorna Oryahovitsa
2nd place: Anatoli Ivanov – XII grade, PG “Ivan Hadjienov”, Kazanlak
3rd place Ivan Georgiev – XI class, PG, “Stefan Karadzha”, Elhovo
At the second stage of the competition, the students presented to the jury and their peers their welded artistic compositions on the topic:
“SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”
The compositions were evaluated according to criteria such as: compatibility with the announced theme, strength and functionality, presentation.
The awards in this discipline were presented by Silvia Stoyanova, an engineer, who announced the request of the company of which she is a representative – “EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGY” OOD to host the competition in 2024.
Ranking in this discipline:
1st place of the team from PGMEE, Burgas
2nd place PG “St. D. Solunski” Beloslav
3rd place PTG “Ivan Raynov”, Yambol
Dr. eng. Svetlana Boshnakova informed the attendees that the presented works will be shaped by a BSZ team in a short presentation and will be presented for participation in an international exhibition of welding compositions within the framework of the annual forum of the International Institute of Welding IIW in Singapore.
You can see the presentation HERE
The following were also held within the event:
Presentation of innovative laser technologies for welding and cleaning
The team of Aramet Ltd
Presentation of good practice in welding training through a welding simulator
The team of the Company “AK Electric” AD, led by engineer Ivan Marianov
The International Harmonized System as an opportunity for teachers and students
Assoc. Petar Durzhanov, OK, BCKZ
Official presentation by Dr. eng. Marin Beloev – Chairman of BSZ and Associate Professor Petar Durzhanov – Quality Manager of BCZK of diplomas for successfully completed International Welding Engineer course to eng. Boyko Yordanov and eng. Desislava Raynova.
Introduction of the first platform in Bulgaria for news and interactive training in welding and industry:
WELDoZAVAR, eng. Pavel Popgeorgiv
Representatives of leading industrial companies met with teachers and students, assuring them that with the abilities demonstrated during the competition, they become sought-after specialists in the industrial branch:
“AK Electric” AD, EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGIES LTD, KMS LTD, “Nexas” LTD.
At the closing ceremony, the awards in the various disciplines were presented as follows by:
Eng. Georgi Dimitrov awarded the winners in the process 135 discipline.
Eng. Rositsa Ilieva, MES awarded the winners in the process 111 discipline.
Eng. Silvia Stoyanova, EGT awarded the winners in the discipline of artistic compositions.
They congratulated the participants and their teachers for the great performance.
Cups and medals for the competition were provided by the Ministry of Education and Science and the coordinator of the event PG in Mechatronics “N.Y. Vapatsrov”, Sofia.
Prizes and participation awards were provided by BSZ partner companies:
“Nexas” EOOD, “Euromarket Group” AD, “Cammarton” EOOD, “Aramet” EOOD, “EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGIES” OD, “AK Electric” AD.
Along with all other prizes provided by the company, the sets of training boards provided by |”Euromarket Group” AD for each of the vocational high schools caused great excitement among the participants.
The representative of the Ministry of Education and Science, Mrs. Rositsa Ilieva expressed her admiration for the overall organization and expressed her gratitude to the host of the event “Nexas” EOOD and his team.
The competition “Young welder from vocational high schools 2023” ended with a lot of excitement and positive emotions.
Organizers of the series of events related to the motivation and raising the prestige of the welder’s profession are: Bulgarian Welding Union (BUW) and Bulgarian Welding Coordinators’ Organization /BOKZ/.
The main objectives of the competitions for young welders are:
Comparing the professional level of welding learners
Exchange of useful experience among students
Making contacts with experts and companies from the industrial branch useful for the future implementation and development of the students;
Effective increase of personal professional motivation, as well as the level of welding training and practical skills;
Increasing the prestige of the “welder” profession in Bulgaria.
Presentation file HERE.