Brad Moe Welder Profile

If you thought welding was just about putting two pieces of metal together, you haven’t met Brad Moe. This shipbuilding veteran has been making waves since 1977 and has become a true expert in what keeps massive vessels afloat. As an inspector with Seaspan in Vancouver, British Columbia, he’s seen it all and he’s not afraid to share his knowledge with the next generation of welders as a mentor and inspector. When he’s not on the job, Brad indulges in his passion for model boat-building and cardboard shipbuilding competitions. Come July 31, 2023, Brad will set sail into retirement while, admittedly, keeping one hand on the welding gun to stay busy.

Q: Tell us about your welding journey.

A: I welded for the first time in, I think, a grade eight or nine metalworking class. I’ve always been a trades type of person, much to the disappointment of my father, who was an accountant. I knew I was going to be a tradesperson, like a mechanic, but I tried welding and found that I liked it and I was good at it. So, I decided to follow that path.

Q: Was welding something you enjoyed right away?

A: I liked welding pretty early. I found that I was good at it, and when I got into the shipyards, it exposed me to various aspects of welding. Whether it was new construction repairs or refits, there was always something interesting. I was on the Ocean Ranger, the exploration rig when it was here. I also worked on the sister ship, the Ocean Bounty. These are things that most people never see. I’ve had the pleasure of crawling through a submarine too. I’ve really enjoyed this life, and I’m certainly going to miss it when I retire this year.

Q: Coming out of high school, what did you do next?

A: I went straight to Vancouver Vocational Institute (VVI) for my first level of welder training. Two years later, I started at the shipyards here in Vancouver, and they put me on what was called an improver ship, where they would teach you what you needed to know for the shipyard. After that, you became a journeyman as soon as you got your CWB certification.

Q: Have you always worked on ships?

A: I’ve worked on bridges and boilers. When I first got out of VVI, I ended up at the shipyard, and my career took off from there.

Q: What are you currently doing at Seaspan?

A: Right now, I’m looking after the level one inspectors. We have a school onsite for teaching called the Centre of Excellence, where people renew their CWB certification. So, the regular instructors look after the new hires and the apprentices, while I look after those getting recertified. I’m also the welding inspection supervisor in the lab.

Q: What are your favourite aspects of the work that you currently do?

A: It’s mainly working with people. I spend a lot of time trying to offload the knowledge and experience I have on the younger people and try to help them along so they don’t make the same mistakes I did. In the past, the thing I always liked was the repair work because the work always changed. I’ve worked on everything from barges all the way up to icebreakers and submarines.

Q: How have you seen welding change in the last 46 years?

A: When I first started, it was all stick welding, so the big change was going to wire. Now, a lot of automation has come in. We’ve got some robots, and we’ve got a full panel line that does a lot of the work for us. We can weld plates up to three-quarter inches thick from one side with our twin head subarc on the panel line.

Q: What’s your opinion of the technology you see in the shipyards?

A: For an old guy like me, I’m not really into technology and robotics. That’s more for the younger folks, you know, the ones who have played video games because there’s a lot of controls and things like that.

Q: Do you think technological advancements will take over the welding industry?

A: I don’t think hand-welding could ever completely go away. I think you’re always going to need somebody somewhere. There are so many places on a ship where a robot just can’t go, and to run these machines, you need to understand the basics of welding to begin with. I mean, you can’t just hand this over to somebody who’s never welded before, doesn’t understand the arc, doesn’t understand the puddle. So, you must start with hand-welding and then move into these specialties.

Q: How does your job make an impact in the world?

A: I’ve done a lot of work with young people and helping them move through their careers. One young lady whom I mentored went through everything and got her certification, and has done really well for herself over the years. There are a lot of young folks I’ve mentored in inspection that came up through the ranks over time, and it’s been very rewarding to see them surpass me in what they’re doing.

Q: What advice do you give young people entering welding?

A: Live it, learn it, love it. I think everyone, especially parents who still carry a stigma toward skilled trades, need to understand that welding is a great career, and it might not even be something you do for the rest of your life. You can get your Red Seal and become an inspector or a teacher or even start your own business. Just because you’re a welder now doesn’t mean you’ll be that 10 or 15 years from now. You’re not stuck in that job if you don’t want to be.

In my case, my father, who was an accountant, was very disappointed I chose this path. He used to refer to me as just a welder. He was in management, and he didn’t respect the skilled trades at all. Even the schools back then pushed you to go to university and get into computers. It was over a span of 10 years that things like shipbuilding were left to die. It’s been tough trying to rebuild a workforce that nearly disappeared.

Q: What sort of activities have you been interested in outside of work?

A: When I was younger, I used to work on cars a lot. I would rebuild the engines and things like that. Now I’m building a lot of boat models. I’ve gotten into building World War I and World War II naval ships, which takes up my spare time.

I’m also on the Board of Directors of Skills Canada BC, and I do cardboard boat races with the BC Construction Foundation. That’s where we get high school students to build boats big enough to fit one person, and we see who can sail theirs the furthest in a pool. About 50 per cent sink before they go anywhere.

Q: What motivates you to get out of bed every day?

A: I love the shipyard. I love what goes on here. I love the big steel. I’m actually retiring on July 31 this year, so I’m trying to offload as much knowledge and information as possible to everyone before I go. I won’t fully leave the industry because I’ve been looking for part-time work to keep my hand in the industry and keep social.

Q: So, you’re not ready to sail off into the sunset just yet?

A: Nope. I worked hard to get certain certifications to work part-time and maybe do some contracting and things of that nature.

When asked if there was anything else he would like to add, Brad said, “Going into the trades isn’t a bad thing. You can make a lot of money doing this if you find it’s your passion. You can work on cars, buildings, and boats. Welding is always a good skill to have.”