Welders

HOW TO GET THERE

Typical pathway

A typical path starts in secondary school with math, physics, drafting, and shop or technology classes, plus any co-op or hands-on shop experience that is available. After graduation, many students look for entry-level work, an apprenticeship, or employer training in welding, metal fabrication, or a related trade, although the route can vary by province and employer. On-the-job practice often builds skill in reading blueprints, using welding and cutting equipment, and working in areas such as construction, custom fabrication, repair shops, shipbuilding, or other metalwork settings.

THE WORK

What you may do

Legacy duties

• Read and interpret blueprints or welding process specifications
• Operate manual or semi-automatic welding equipment to fuse metal segments using processes such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), plasma arc welding (PAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), oxy-acetylene welding (OAW), resistance welding and submerged arc welding (SAW)
• Operate manual or semi-automatic flame-cutting equipment
• Operate brazing and soldering equipment
• Operate metal shaping machines such as brakes, shears and other metal straightening and bending machines
• Repair worn parts of metal products by welding on extra layers.
• Welders may specialize in certain types of welding such as custom fabrication, ship building and repair, aerospace precision welding, pressure vessel welding, pipeline construction welding, structural construction welding, or machinery and equipment repair welding.

SKILLS TO BUILD

Skills used in this Career