Fabricator/Welder Review

My role in the workplace is to fabricate steel beams using the information provided on drawings. The general process is as follows: check the length of all material provided, as well as the dimensions of the holes to make sure everything is within tolerance, using a gas torch cut any notches or any other cuts required, grind all holes up and tack weld any plates, welding may also be required, jobs differ depending on what needs doing.

Since starting my apprenticeship i have developed many skills, including learning how to set up and use a welding plant, how to weld to the companies specification and to a good standard. I have also learned how to use oxy/fuel cutting to a good standard, and read and extract information from engineering drawings and transfer it onto various jobs.

I enjoy the process of learning new things and testing myself with more complicated drawings and skills, however more complex work is not always available and sometimes small repetitive jobs can become very tedious if done for a long time. overall I do enjoy learning the trade and becoming a more skilled tradesman.

For the most part, the training in the workplace is well structured and we are given quite a lot of support in our learning; however we have had quite alot of issues with the quality of the college we have been put in, since we have moved from scarborough tec though, the structure of college work has mostly improved.

For the most part we receive quite a lot of support from our employer in regards to our well being at college, this is usually in the form of catch ups/ chats with Lee Plant where we can voice our opinions and issues with college and work, this can be quite helpful at times.

generally, we receive adequate support from our training provider, this includes help with any work if required, but the case is usually that you just have to ask if there are any issues then support will be provided afterwards, this is not a big issue though. We also receive help in regards to what units/ work needs doing.

When at college we are learning the specifics of the tools and equipment we are using, so this provides a deeper understanding into the work that we are doing and how it works, this allows us to better understand what we are doing in the workplace.

There are events and activities to participate in outside of work hours like Christmas parties and football matches however i feel that these do not appeal to everyone and some people might not feel inclined to participate in these. however for me this is not really an issue at all.

Yes

I would maybe recommend this to a friend if they were interested in getting into the trade/ this area of engineering, as i feel it is quite a good starting point. However i would not recommend this to someone already skilled in the field as I feel there would be less to gain for them

make sure that you are certain that this is the field that you want to get into, and - if this is the case - think about what you would like to do afterwards in terms of higher qualifications so that you stand to gain something more from the course rather than just a job at the end of it.