Fabrication and Welding Level 3

With a growing demand across the UK for skilled welders and fabricators, this course is your gateway into a rewarding trade where your skills are always in demand. You’ll work in our industry-standard workshops, gain hands-on experience with real tools and techniques, and develop essential workplace skills that will help you progress into employment, apprenticeships, or further study.

During the course, you will be introduced to a variety of fabrication and welding techniques such as GMAW (MAG), GTAW (TIG), FCAW and SMAW (MMA) (don’t worry, you’ll know the difference once you have finished).

The Fabrication and Welding course offers a huge workshop with a variety of the latest and most up-to-date industry-standard equipment, meaning you will have a head start should you choose this as a career path. We are a proud department and are working closely with worldwide, supplier Lincoln Electric and will be offering the opportunity to train on leading welding machines called a Powerwave 300c. You’ll also be shown the ropes by course tutors with a background in the industry and recent experience in the trade.

In fabrication and welding you will be preparing and joining different types of metal using different processes. You will learn how to interpret engineering drawings and symbols to make accurate items. You will also learn about aspects of the trade such as cutting, forming and joining metal and using different methods of carrying out sheet metal cutting, forming and assembly including oxy-fuel equipment and manual metal arc and TIG welding. Our Engineering and Renewable Energy Centre offers you the unique chance to work with a variety of welding equipment as well as diagnostic testing equipment which has been installed to help you develop the up-to-date skills the industry is looking for.

The department works hard to provide real-life work experience opportunities with local employers, and works closely with the department’s skills and employability trainer to engage as many as learners as possible.

When you do a vocational qualification you will learn in a workshop appropriate for your subject and you will usually be assessed through practical assessments, projects, assignments and oral and written questions. There may be exams in some subjects and your tutor will prepare you for these.

Level 3 – 4 GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and Maths

Welding and fabrication apprenticeships with engineering firms, manufacturers, and offshore companies

Entry-level employment as a welder, fabricator, pipefitter or metalworker across construction, oil and gas, and renewable energy industries

Further education, including HNC, HNDs or university-level engineering degrees, with opportunities to specialise in mechanical, marine or structural engineering