Plate Welder (Level 3 Standard)

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.

For Level 3 apprenticeships, learners are generally required to have a minimum of 3-5 GCSEs (including Maths and English) at grade 4 (C) or above prior to enrolment. However, for applicants aged 19 or older, this requirement may be waived at the discretion of the employer and training provider, depending on the role and individual circumstances.

• Hands-on Training & College Learning: Apprentices work on-site in fabrication yards, shipyards, or engineering construction sites while attending college weekly on a day release basis. They prepare materials, set up equipment, and weld fabricated plate assemblies, gaining practical experience with structural steel components (e.g. Channel, H-Beams, I-Beams etc), pressure vessels, and large-scale components.
• Wide-Ranging Curriculum: The course covers manual welding techniques using more than one 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), material preparation, weld inspection, technical drawings, and health and safety. Apprentices also learn to work to internationally recognised quality standards and meet stringent tolerances for structural integrity.

• Specialist Pathways: Learners may specialise in marine fabrication, bridge and stadium construction, defence systems, or process plant structures depending on interest and employer need. Employers may support additional training in coded welding, non-destructive testing, or multi-positional welding depending on sector needs. Plate welders will weld 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.

• Career-Ready Qualification: Upon completion (typically 36 months), apprentices earn a Level 3 qualification and are ready for roles like plate welder, structural fabricator, or welding technician, with progression into coded welder certification, supervisory roles, or advanced fabrication and inspection pathways.

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 an 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 into one of our advice events, ring the Apprenticeship Team on 01743 653444 or email apprenticeships@shrewsbury.ac.uk