Welders join metals in a wide range of industries, such as aerospace, construction, defence, mining, marine and structural engineering. Welding contributes to the UK economy through the creation and repair of engineered goods and assets.
Welders may be employed in any size of business from small companies to large multi-nationals. They work in a range of settings including fabrication shops, assembly yards, construction and building sites, factories and operational facilities requiring maintenance and upgrade. They can be employed by supply chain companies, the direct owner, or operators.
Welders are responsible for the production of welds using manual and mechanised arc welding processes to sector standards. They will weld using a minimum of two weld process and material combinations, with at least one process being manual welding.
Manual processes can include: manual tungsten inert gas (TIG), plasma arc welding (PAW), manual metal arc (MMA), metal inert or metal active gas (MIG or MAG), flux cored arc welding (FCAW). Mechanised processes can include: submerged arc welding (SAW), tractor-mounted metal inert or metal active gas (MIG or MAG), tractor-mounted flux cored arc welding (FCAW), tractor-mounted or orbital tungsten inert gas (TIG), tractor-mounted or orbital plasma arc welding (PAW).