Plate Welder (Level 3 Standard)

In order to complete this welding Apprenticeship, you will be expected to complete an initial assessment in Maths and English to ensure you are at a suitable level to work towards this qualification. Some employers will specify their own minimum qualification entry requirements, which would be detailed within their Apprenticeship vacancy.

This occupation is found in a wide range of sectors associated with the Fabrication, Construction and upgrade of major capital plant items and facilities. This will include Structural Steel fabrication and construction (e.g. Buildings, Stadia, Bridges, Piers, Jetties etc.), Marine fabrication, construction and upgrade (Ships, Submarines, Wind Turbine Towers), Defence fabrication (armoured vehicles), Process Plant (structures and storage tanks), Engineering Construction (Lifting Beams, Cranes, Construction Vehicles etc.), Mining & Mineral Processing (Shuttering, Structural Supports, Wear Plates, Chutes, Mills, Pulverisers), Transport (Aerospace, Rail and Automotive), and Manufacturing of machinery & equipment. Plate Welders may be employed in any size of organisation from small companies to large multi-national organisations.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to manually weld plate and structural components to high standards of quality. This will involve fabrication, construction or repair of fabricated plate assemblies, extrusions and structural components (e.g. Channel, H-Beams, I-Beams etc.) used often used to fabricate larger components and assemblies. Plate welders will weld to internationally recognised quality standards using more than one manual arc welding process from Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG), Plasma Arc Welding (PAW), Manual Metal Arc (MMA), Metal Inert Gas (MIG)/Metal Active Gas (MAG) and Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) on more than one material group from Carbon Steel, Low Alloy Steel, High Alloy Ferritic/Martensitic Steel, Austenitic Stainless Steel, Nickel & Nickel Alloys, Aluminium & Aluminium alloys, Titanium & Titanium Alloys, Copper & Copper Alloys. For example, a Plate Welder might use Manual Metal Arc (MMA) and Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) to join both Carbon Steel and Low Alloy Steel materials.

For a comprehensive understanding of this programme and what it entails, please click here.

This welding Apprenticeship is taught at our London Road campus on a day release basis, attending college 2 days a week in the first year and 1 day a week in the second year. If you need to complete your functional skills, then this will be covered at college in a block week release. In addition, you will be assessed in the workplace by your assessor and progress reviewed every 12 weeks with your employer. In addition, you will be required to sit an End Point Assessment, towards the final stages of your programme, which will ensure you have obtained the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to carry out your role effectively.

Typically, this Apprenticeship will take 3 years to complete, plus the End Point Assessment period.

To be a Plate Welder apprentice, you will need an employer who can offer you a specific role relevant to this apprenticeship and release you for your training. Once you have an employer in place, you can apply online. If after reading this fact sheet, you are still undecided about the course most suitable for you, please drop in to one of our Advice Events, ring the Apprenticeship Team on 01743 653 460 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.