My career started as an apprentice in 1986 at Air Products’ Acrefair manufacturing facility, Wrexham, North Wales. We built large scale ASUs (air separation units), pressure vessels, pressure pipework, HPNs (high pressure nitrogen generators), skids, PSAs (pressure swing absorbers) and other pressure equipment for the petrochemical industry as well as producing UHP (ultra high purity) systems for the microchip industry.

After my 4-year apprenticeship, I was offered a full time position as a welder. I welded a variety of materials including carbon steel, 9% Ni steel, aluminium, stainless steels and monel. I progressed within the company to become a weld inspector, which allowed me to gain invaluable experience in the QA/QC department. The weld inspector role allowed me to gain other skills, knowledge and understanding of processes such as non-destructive and destructive testing, metallurgical requirements of consumables, traceability of materials, weld procedures, and welder qualifications, as well as gaining internal quality auditing certification.

Sadly, in 2009, it was announced that Air Products was to close the manufacturing facility at Acrefair, which was a real shock and a hammer blow to the great people that worked there. I had a Careers Wales interview to support being made redundant. At that interview, it was suggested that I could consider teaching welding as a possible career path. On the way home from that interview, I bought a local paper which had an advert for a fabrication and welding lecturer at The City of Wolverhampton College. I applied, had an interview and was offered the lecturer position, which was amazing. The college supported me to gain my Cert Ed teaching award. After 3 years at The City of Wolverhampton College, an opportunity arose closer to home at Yale College (now Coleg Cambria after a merger with Deeside College) in Wrexham, and I have been working there ever since.

I still wanted to be involved in the skills competitions at Coleg Cambria. I was originally entering students for the welding, sheet metalwork and construction metalwork competitions. I have always explained to any competitor that it is not all about winning a medal, it’s about stepping out of their ‘comfort zone’. Being able to use their skills and other skills such as time management, reading and understanding drawings, working under pressure and safely, as well as being well prepared and organised before and during the competition. These are skills that are transferable to any workplace, not just welding, fabrication or engineering. These are also skills that employers are looking for in every sector.

Every year, I enter competitors into the Welsh skills competitions, which are organised by Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales (ISEiW), and Worldskills UK national competitions in partnership with Pearson BTEC and Apprenticeships.

In November 2023, an opportunity arose at Worldskills UK for the position of training

manager for welding. Essentially, my role is to train and develop the age-aligned competitors who achieve a required standard, from 2024’s welding final to challenge the world’s best welders at Worldskills International in Shanghai in 2026. This challenge is something that I’m really looking forward to, especially after attending last year’s international competition in Lyon, where I gained valuable insights as to what it takes to compete on the world stage. There is also the possibility of competing at Euroskills in September 2025, which will be held in Herning, Denmark. You have to basically think of these competitions like the football World Cup and the Euros, but every two years not four.

Worldskills UK uses international best practice to raise standards in apprenticeships and technical education so more young people and employers succeed. Find out more here.

I am very keen and passionate to spread the word about the SkillWeld competition and its benefits to not only the competitors, but also to employers and to help bridge the skills gap that we’re currently facing. Stephen Haymes who is the Competition Organising Partner for welding and Don Atkinson who is President of the Teeside branch, are organising a meeting here and with other interested parties to discuss how to support myself and to develop ideas on training the next generation of welders for future competitions, such as Shanghai 2026 and Japan 2028.

If you would like to know more about the competitions, want to be involved, or can support the competition in any way, we would love to hear from you.

Please email Carl Parrish here