Welding & Fabrication -- specializations, skills & career paths
Welding and fabrication is the work of cutting and joining metal to a specification that will be tested -- structural steel, pressure vessels, pipelines, shipyards. Entry is an ITI certificate in Welder or Sheet Metal Worker after class 10. What separates a welder's earnings is certification rather than seniority: qualifying to a particular process and position, and passing the tests that let you work on pressure or structural jobs, changes what work you can take. Inspection and non-destructive testing are the usual step past the torch.
Workers in Welding & Fabrication read drawings and set out material, cut and join metal to specified tolerances, work to welding procedure and inspection standards, and move into inspection, supervision and specialised process work.
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