Are you eager to jump into the world of welding? If so, read on to kickstart your career in this industry.
But first, what is welding?
Welding is used significantly and in almost every sector of industry. General welders are a high demand for skilled General Welders in industry areas such as: automotive, marine, transport, general fabrication, construction, and many more.
General Welders produce items like components for cars; ships; rail vehicles; simple metallic containers; and steelwork for bridges, buildings, and gantries.
Skilled, qualified, professionally certified General Welders can work anywhere in the world and provide services in the harshest of environments. For these accomplished professionals, the monetary rewards can be significant.
What skill requirements do you need for the apprenticeship?
- Produce good quality welds using two welding process/material type combinations
- Receive, handle, and maintain consumables
- Attain a qualification in accordance with one of the following standards: ISO 9606 / ASME IX / BS4872 / AWS D1.1, determined by the employer. N.B. These qualifications are regarded as licenses to practice welding.
- Achieve quality of work to meet international standards for dimensional and surface inspection (Visual, Magnetic)
- To prepare and check the welding equipment
- Complete and check the work ready for inspections
- To ensure health and safety requirements are reported
What knowledge will you gain in this apprenticeship?
- To be aware of the basic mechanical properties and weldability.
- To understand the common arc welding processes, joint types, and positions.
- To understand the major components of welding equipment and the essential parameters for welding.
- To understand the terminology, operation, and controls for the selected arc welding processes, joint types, and welding positions.
- To be able to identify and understand the causes of typical welding defects and how their occurrence can be reduced, for the materials and welding processes selected.
- To know the basics of welding
- Knowing the basics of welding documents
Behaviours:
- A questioning attitude, to understand the processes and associated industrial applications. Maintaining competence with a commitment to Continuing Professional Development.
- Planning and preparation to ensure production and Continuing Professional Development goals are achieved.
- Intervention, to challenge poor practices and channel feedback to the appropriate authorities to implement change.
Entry requirements:
Practical skills are considered as important as academic ability. Dependent on the employer, they will set their own specific selection criteria on what requirements you would need.
Generally, you are required to have successfully achieved level 1 in English and Mathematics and to have also taken your examinations at level 2 for both these subjects, within the period of apprenticeship if these had already not been achieved.
General Welders are fully competent in manual welding using at least one arc process. They are also required in a number of sectors, for example, the steelwork construction sector.
Conclusion:
This general welding apprenticeship is a great way to start your career in the manufacturing field. You will need to understand the process as well as ensuring all goals are achieved. This apprenticeship qualification is a great starting point and being able to work your way up from. Once you are certified, this can allow you to work from anywhere in the world in any industry. This can be just the starting point of your lifelong career in welding!
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