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What Does a Welder Do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A welder is someone who cuts, shapes, joins and repairs pieces of metal using heat. They can also be referred to by their particular area of expertise, such as a pipe welder, MIG welder, TIG welder or arc welder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welders might work with welding materials such as aluminium, steel or brass, and may work on a construction site, demolition site, shipyard, in a personal workshop, in a factory or in people\u2019s private homes. The role is likely to involve lone working<\/a>, hot work<\/a> and working at height<\/a>, so the ability to work well in a high-pressure working environment is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key tasks a welder does include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To become a welder, it\u2019s recommended that you look into a relevant college course or apprenticeship to ensure you have both the practical and theoretical skills needed to perform the role safely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For many welding jobs, you’ll need an industry safety certificate, such as the Client Contractor National Safety Group<\/a> (CCNSG) Safety Passport alongside your qualification. You\u2019ll also need a valid Construction Skills Certification Scheme<\/a> (CSCS) card if you plan to work as a welder on a construction site. Bear in mind the time and costs associated with obtaining these extra certificates and cards if you plan to enter this line of work.<\/p>\n\n\n The qualifications you need to be a welder include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A college welding course enables you to learn everything you need to know to become a trainee welder, including essential welding techniques and skills, health and safety procedures and knowledge of the engineering industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of relevant courses are a Level 1 in Introductory Welding Skills, a Level 2 Award in Welding Skills and Techniques, a Level 3 Certificate in Welding and Fabrication Engineering Technology (for more experienced welders) or a T Level in Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control. To take a level 2 college course in welding, you\u2019ll need at least two GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During a welding apprenticeship, you\u2019ll learn hands-on skills from experienced welders alongside your classes in a college. An apprenticeship gives you real-life experience of welding, allows you to earn money whilst training and may lead to a position as a trainee welder within the company you do your apprenticeship with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of relevant apprenticeships are the General Welder Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, the Pipe Welder Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship and the Plate Welder Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship. Each one takes 2-4 years to complete and you\u2019ll need at least two GCSEs, including English and maths, to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n Work experience as a welder is usually voluntary and unpaid, whether you do it full-time for a fortnight, after school or on a weekend. Welding work experience is a great way to get experience of a real-life working environment and is an asset to your CV. You could choose to shadow an experienced welder or look into a more specialist area of engineering or fabrication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be a welder, you must prioritise health and safety at all times and recognise the importance of performing the role safely and according to regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n High Speed Training has a wide range of health and safety awareness training that\u2019s ideal for both new and experienced welders. All the courses can be completed online, giving you a certificate to put on your CV at the end. Some of the awareness level courses on offer include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can access our full catalogue of online health and safety training courses here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n As well as being able to carry out the practical tasks associated with welding, like cutting metal, making joins and using hot flame tools (your welding \u2018hard skills<\/a>\u2019), a competent welder also needs to possess a range of \u2018soft skills<\/a>\u2019 to be successful in the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of welding soft skills are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re new to the industry but know that welding is a career you want to pursue, take a look at the UK government\u2019s apprenticeships near you<\/a> or courses near you<\/a> websites to find some initial training. You can then use the find a job service<\/a> to look for permanent welding roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you work in engineering already and want to move into welding, you can look at taking an additional training course in welding or inspection through The Welding Institute (TWI)<\/a>. Anyone can join the TWI and it can be a useful source of information for professional development, networking and training opportunities for both new and experienced welders.<\/p>\n\n\n If you\u2019re unsure whether welding is the right career for you but you\u2019re still interested in developing a trade, then our guide on careers in the construction industry<\/a> will help you explore other similar job options that you may be interested in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With experience as a welder, you can then explore different types of welding careers<\/strong>, such as becoming a supervisor or workshop manager, working in quality control and welding inspection, training new welders, becoming a welding engineer or specialising in a particular area of welding, such as marine engineering or boiler making. An experienced welder can earn in excess of \u00a345,000 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Skilled, qualified and competent welders will always be in demand in the engineering and construction industries, so pursuing this line of work can be a great career choice. Welding requires both practical skills and soft skills, including thorough knowledge of how to carry out this high-risk role safely and according to procedure. Once qualified, welding can become a career for life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Welding is a skilled trade in an industry that can provide you with a job for life. Find everything you need to know about becoming a welder here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":76552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[74,85,97],"class_list":["post-76462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-safety","tag-career-development","tag-site-safety","tag-training"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat Qualifications Do You Need to be a Welder?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWelding College Courses<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Welding Apprenticeships<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWelder Work Experience<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Welding Health and Safety Awareness Training<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nWhat Skills Do You Need to Be a Welder?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nHow to Get into Welding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nFurther Resources:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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