Resume template · Updated October 2026
Resume template for trade school graduates
Short answer
Leslie suits a trade school graduate who already works in a shop: experience prints right after the summary, then skills, then the program with its clock hours. The fictional sample finished a welding technology diploma in 2026, works as a welder helper at a structural steel shop and holds an AWS certification for one process in two positions. Other vocational programs fit the same layout.
Download the trade school sample
Tyler is a fictional welder. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Leslie suits a trade school resume
Leslie prints work experience straight after the summary, ahead of skills and education, so a shop foreman reads what you already do on the floor before the program details. Skills appear as labelled rows with a dot after each label, which keeps welding processes and cutting equipment on separate lines.
Second choice: Meridian. Meridian prints skills before any job; choose it if you have no trade work yet and your processes and certifications are the strongest part of the page.
What goes in each section, in Leslie's order
Leslie prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Name the trade, the program you finished and your main certification in the first sentence, then the work you do now. A welding supervisor wants to know which processes and positions you are certified in before anything else.
- Work Experience. Shop work first, even as a helper or apprentice: what you fit, tack, grind or cut, the materials and the drawings you work from. An earlier job outside the trade can stay as two lines to show you turn up.
- Skills. One row for processes (SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, GTAW), one for cutting and layout equipment, one for working habits. List only a process you can run to the standard the shop expects.
- Education. Program title, school, clock hours or length and the finish month. Shop competencies or a capstone piece go in the detail line; the high school diploma can come off once the trade program is listed.
- Certifications. Write each certification with its process, position and code, plus the year. AWS certification depends on the process, base material, position and code tested and stays valid only while continuity is maintained, so list active ones. Repeat the main one in the headline, since this section prints near the end.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Tyler Brooks
Welder, AWS Certified SMAW 3G and 4G, Welding Technology Diploma
Tulsa, OK | tyler.brooks@example.com | (918) 555-0172
Welder with a 960-hour welding technology diploma and AWS certification in SMAW, 3G and 4G plate, to AWS D1.1. Seven months as a welder helper in a structural steel shop, fitting, tacking and finishing beams and stair stringers. Looking for a full-time structural or production welding position.
Experience
Welder Helper, Red Fork Steel Fabricators, Tulsa, OK (04/2026 to Present)
- Fit and tack beam clips, stair stringers and base plates from shop drawings for the lead welders.
- Run FCAW fill passes on flat and horizontal joints under the lead welder's supervision.
- Grind and prep joints, and cut stock on the plasma table and bandsaw.
- Keep the bay's consumables stocked and log wire and rod use for the shop manager.
Warehouse Associate, Arrowhead Supply Co., Tulsa, OK (06/2023 to 08/2025)
- Picked and loaded orders on a sit-down forklift with no safety incidents.
- Trained four seasonal hires on the scanner system and loading checklist.
Education
Diploma, Welding Technology, Cimarron Valley Trade School (03/2026). 960 clock hours. SMAW, GMAW, FCAW and GTAW on plate and pipe; blueprint reading and weld symbols; capstone: steel workbench built from own drawings
Certifications
- AWS Certified Welder, SMAW 3G and 4G plate, AWS D1.1, American Welding Society (2026)
- OSHA 10-Hour General Industry, OSHA Outreach Training Program (2025)
Skills
SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, GTAW (basic), Fit-up and tacking, Reading shop drawings, Plasma table, Oxy-fuel cutting, Angle grinders, Squares and levels, Steady pace on production work, Clean, safe work area
How to make the sample yours
Spell out each weld test
"AWS Certified Welder, SMAW 3G and 4G plate, AWS D1.1" tells a foreman exactly what you passed. A bare "AWS certified" makes them ask.
Give the program's hours, not just its name
Trade programs vary in length, so the clock hours or months show how much time you spent in the booth. Add the shop competencies if your program tracked them.
Swap welding for your own trade
An HVAC graduate would list refrigerant handling and system types; an electrical program graduate, conduit bending and code basics; a medical assistant program graduate, clinical and front-desk skills. Keep the order: job, skills, program, credentials.
Add safety cards
An OSHA 10 card or a forklift certification counts on a shop floor. List each with the year it was issued.
Keep photos of your work for the interview
Pictures of fit-ups or a cut-and-etch sample belong in a phone gallery or folder you can show. Add a portfolio link to the header if you have one.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- welding technology
- SMAW
- FCAW
- GMAW
- blueprint reading
- weld symbols
- fit-up
- plasma cutting
- grinding
- AWS D1.1
- structural steel
- shop safety
- OSHA 10
Mistakes to avoid
- Listing processes you tried once in school as skills. A shop will put you in a booth to test them.
- Writing "certified welder" with no process, position or code. The certification record has those details; copy them.
- Leaving the program length off. "Welding diploma" alone says far less than "960-hour welding technology diploma".
- An objective about wanting to "learn a trade" when you have already finished the program. Say what you can do now.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 6 of 6 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 6 of 6 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 6 of 6 |
Frequently asked questions
How do I list trade school on a resume?
As an education entry with the program title, the school, the city, the clock hours or length and the finish month. The shop skills it taught go in your skills section in the trade's own terms.
Should vocational training go above my high school diploma?
Yes. Entries run newest first, and the trade program is the qualification the employer is hiring for. The diploma can stay below it or come off.
What if I have no trade experience yet?
Name the program and your certifications in the summary, list shop projects from school, and keep any other job to show reliability. Meridian, which prints skills first, can suit that page better.
How do I keep a welding certification current on my resume?
AWS certification stays valid while continuity is maintained, so keep the maintenance paperwork up to date and list only certifications that are active.
Should a trade school resume be one page?
Yes. A program, one or two jobs, skills and certifications fit comfortably on a single page.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Leslie PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 6 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- American Welding Society: Certified Welder Program (Performance-based test at an AWS Accredited Test Facility; requirements depend on the welding process, base material, position and code; certification remains valid as long as continuity is maintained.)
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