Trying to decide on a welding school in Canada

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Hi there, new user here, made my account cause I have a very hard decision to make and I was hoping to get the opinions of people who may have been in my shoesI live in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada and I'm currently a C level welder getting ready to go back and earn my B level training. I've got two schools to choose from, BCIT or Kwantlen PolytechnicI've emailed both of them about wait lists and Kwantlen informed me that their wait list is about two years long, but it's possible more courses could open up and shorten the wait list, while BCIT informed me their wait list was much shorterThe problem I run into is that I've heard Kwantlen's program is superior to that at BCIT, and I already did my C level at Kwantlen so it would be far easier for me to go back there than it would be to start at a different school, but two years is a hell of a time to waitDoes anyone on these forums have any experience with either of these schools and are able to ofer a comparison, or their opinions based on their experiences with either school?
Reply:Originally Posted by Mr. SandmanHi there, new user here, made my account cause I have a very hard decision to make and I was hoping to get the opinions of people who may have been in my shoesI live in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada and I'm currently a C level welder getting ready to go back and earn my B level training. I've got two schools to choose from, BCIT or Kwantlen PolytechnicI've emailed both of them about wait lists and Kwantlen informed me that their wait list is about two years long, but it's possible more courses could open up and shorten the wait list, while BCIT informed me their wait list was much shorterThe problem I run into is that I've heard Kwantlen's program is superior to that at BCIT, and I already did my C level at Kwantlen so it would be far easier for me to go back there than it would be to start at a different school, but two years is a hell of a time to waitDoes anyone on these forums have any experience with either of these schools and are able to ofer a comparison, or their opinions based on their experiences with either school?
Reply:I did my C ticket at Kwantlen too but I've also spent some time in the weld shop at BCIT. Kwantlen beats BCIT hands down. Both shops have similar equipment but Kwantlen has TONS more space, plus they have Al Sumal and Loc Hepburn teaching the classes (although I heard Loc was retiring soon). If you can hold out for Kwantlen, do it. If you'd rather get it over with instead of waiting 2 years, go with BCIT. Cheers!
Reply:Take a look here.KTKhttp://www.uapicbc.ca/
Reply:Hey shout out to my local brothers... Kwantlen is the best out here. I havent finished my C, but I did have a good time. However,   A friend of mine out in Alberta doing fracking, his co-worker had a number of weld certs from BC, came out there and found out they weren't worth much, had to retrain in there school to get any cert for a job. So if out there is where you might be headed, check you credentials if they are valid.
Reply:Thanks for the replies so farI'm not so concerned about the facility itself, Id be willing to put up with a little less space and such, my primary concern is the quality of the training itself, how the instructors compare between Kwantlen and BCIT. I just want to finish the course confident that my training is more than sufficient for whatever welding field I go into next
Reply:You might consider further up the Fraser Valley.  UFV runs upgraders in the afternoons.  Not sure what will happen this year.     No matter which school you go with you still will need to do your Red Seal after your "B" if you are going out of province.  "B" level introduces you to pipe.  It will not make you an experienced hand.  Al and Loc are nice people and care.  Caring about your students and wanting them to be successful is important.  Almost 30 years ago I started in a shop that Al had recently left.  Everytime they had a problem it was "If Al was here he would know what to do!"  He already had a rep with me and I never had met him LOL  Last thing is the waiting lists.  Sometimes there is a lot of double booking and when it comes to starting date people do not show up or have chosen another institution.  It is worth a few bucks to put your name in ASAP.