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National Apprenticeship Week is taking place from Monday 5 February to Sunday 11 February. This is the 17^th annual week-long celebration which brings together apprentices and businesses across the UK to show the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

The theme for this year’s National Apprenticeship week is: Skills for life. This is to try and encourage everyone to think about how apprenticeships can help individuals to learn and adapt on skills and knowledge which is required for a rewarding career.

Each day different events are being held across the UK, here is a rundown of all the events:

Monday – Apprenticeships for all! This topic is to show everyone that apprenticeships are for all ages, sectors, levels and backgrounds. Apprenticeships develop people with the skills employers need and benefit within the economy it provides a rout into a successful and fulfilling career.

Tuesday – Employer Tuesday. This is showcasing what makes a great employer and displays the range of apprenticeship which are available to everyone.

Wednesday – Apprentice Wednesday. This is a chance for apprentices to explain their own experiences and stories, showing individuals what they can achieve by doing an apprenticeship.

Thursday – T Level Thursday. This day will include everything there is to know about T Levels and how they work.

Friday – Celebration Friday. This will showcase the talent, success and the accomplishments by apprentices in different industries around the UK where they will share stories, images and videos.

Saturday and Sunday – The NAW Weekender. Plan an event and get involved over the weekend.

Discover more

Any student enrolled on a course with the minimum equivalent length of one full academic year is eligible for free student associate membership of The Welding Institute. The free Associate Student grade is available for the duration of enrolment on your course, up to a maximum of 5 years.

As part of your Membership with The Welding Institute, you will gain a multitude of benefits, such as becoming a part of a regional Branch, a reduced price for attending Institute Technical Group events, and access to our newly redesigned Digital Library. You will also be able to learn continuously with Professional Development opportunities and Training and Development courses, where The Welding Institute Members benefit from a 5% discount.

The Younger Members’ Committee is the perfect place for young people in the engineering space that wish to meet peers in the same field, as well as those with similar interests to them. You can also investigate and monitor current job opportunities on the newly introduced Jobsite – a dedicated website for engineering, welding and allied technology-based job listings.

These are just some of the benefits available to students, for free, with a Welding Institute Associate Student membership.

In this video our Professional Membership Officer, Ellie takes you through what you will gain by becoming a Member of The Welding Institute as well as what we offer to all our Members.

By becoming a Member, individuals can access a wide range of benefits which we have created to best suit Members’ professional needs, helping individuals with their career, and meeting the needs of employers and clients, all whilst supporting Members to meet their own personal career goals.

The benefits are:

• Events
• Technical Groups
• Digital Library and Information Services
• Jobsite
• Branches
• Professional Development
• Young Members
• TWI Technical Resources and Information
• Training and Development
•  IIW Membership
•  The Welding and Joining Matters Journal

LINK TO VIDEO 

Sean Evans is the current Chair of the Younger Members' Committee, also known as the YMC, the Committee is a diverse group of people with the aim of sharing knowledge and encouraging careers in the industry. Sean lives in South Wales and works for EDF as part of their central technical organisation. His role is to assess both new and in-service pressure equipment to ensure they are safe, suitable and compliant to a specific code. However Sean’s job role beforehand was inspecting pressure equipment from a regulation perspective (as well as carrying out NDT), but he is relishing the technical challenges that are present in his new position.

For those who don’t know can you explain what The Young Members’ Committee is and what it aims to do?

‘The Young Members Committee is a group of individuals who have a passion for welding/engineering and want to help share that passion with others in the industry. This is done through knowledge-sharing opportunities, helping with the recruitment of younger members and supporting the branch network of The Welding Institute. The term, ‘Young Members’ does not necessarily mean school age or graduate, but it means young in terms of career and within the industry.’

What is your current job role/responsibilities within your job role at YMC?

‘I am the South Wales/South Western Branch Committee representative and recently became Chair of the YMC. My role within the YMC is to set the strategy, then implement thus with the help of other Committee Members.

When did you join The Welding Institute?

‘I applied for an Associate Membership back in 2019, I then transferred my IEng as a full Member in 2021, gaining a CEng in January 2023.’

Why did you join The Welding Institute?

‘I have been with a number of Institutes over the years but, when I was completing my MSc, I had the option to apply for an Associate Membership with The Welding Institute. It was then that I realised how much expertise and interesting areas that The Welding Institute covers – from welding to fracture, and materials science to NDT. The constant drip of technical information from webinars was particularly interesting and something I would like to expand on with the YMC.’

Why did you choose a career in engineering?

‘It was actually an accident. As with most young people at the time, I was encouraged to go to university straight after school. This led me to start a Forensic Science degree, which I left after a year. I then fell into the world of engineering and something clicked. I looked for a way to gain qualifications whilst working and found an advanced apprenticeship in the steel industry. My passion for engineering has never stopped and will continue for many more years.’

What has been the most valuable lesson from being part of the YMC?

‘It’s the Members that make it work – without everyone contributing, the YMC wouldn’t exist. There is so much knowledge within the membership.

What has been your favourite memory from being part of the YMC?

‘Certainly the most recent favourite has to be attending the 100th Anniversary. Meeting a number of previous Chairs who gave an insight, but also brought a lot of humour too! I am hoping to arrange something for the YMC going forward to bring us all together (whether in-person or virtually).

What motivated you to become Chair?

‘I have been fortunate that, over the years, I’ve always spoken up to make my voice and opinions heard – but also there have been people to help steer me and my career to where I wanted it to go. That’s what I want to do as Chair of the YMC; share my own experience and knowledge, motivate and promote collaboration within the YMC and beyond.’

What advice would you give to your younger self?

‘One bit of advice I would give is to get involved in as many extra-curricular things as possible – you will be surprised how many valuable skills and lessons you will pick up, as well as the willingness of people who want to help each other succeed.'

A Refresher on High Strength Steels and Modern Systems of Welding Data Collection Monitoring

Our Materials Technical Group will be hosting an in person event on 29 February 2024 at 9:30 AM – 17:00PM. The event will be hosted at ESAB/GCE Empress Works, Penny Lane, Saint Helens, WA11 9DB.

The event, which is titled, ‘A Refresher on High Strength Steels and Modern Systems of Welding Data Collection Monitoring.’

Who should attend?

Welding Engineers, Production personnel, Inspection and QC personnel, Welding Metallurgists working in Structural, Offshore and Process industries. The event will also be of interest to Engineering students, Welding Technicians and Industrial Project personnel.

What will you learn?

The presentations on High Strength Steels (HSS) will be about their manufacture, properties and weldability, the development of ultra-high strength filler metals, case studies covering issues in the use of HHS and examples of their application. You will see the ESAB Process Centre and see state-of-the-art welding equipment systems and learn about advances in weld monitoring and control software.   

Speakers and Presentation Titles:

Tom Cosgrove – The use of High Strength Steels for Structures 

Dr Vahid Hosseini – Filler Metal Development for 1100 MPa Yield Strength Steel

Neil Perry – Design and Application of High Strength Steels up to grade s690, based on Project Experience – A Structural Engineer’s Viewpoint.

Alan Denny – Centreline Cracking in High Strength Structural Steel

Hugo Costa – Introduction to the INDUSUITE Cloud-based Digital Solution Suite

Peter Ankers – Live Welding, Real-time Data Collection and INDUSUITE Applications Demonstration

RICHARD DOLBY/ROLLS-ROYCE AWARD 2024 

The Richard Dolby/Rolls-Royce Award is presented biennially by The Welding Institute’s Young Members Committee.

A cash prize of £1,000 will be given to any young Member (under 35 years of age) that can show success and enthusiasm for welding, joining and/or materials engineering at an early stage in their career.

HOW TO APPLY:

Download an application form here.

Follow the instructions on the form and submit.

The deadline for applications are 16:00 PM on 15 March 2024.

Application form 

Our Polymers and Composites Technical Group will be hosting an online webinar from 12:00 PM – 13:30 PM (UK Time) on 18 January 2024.

The event, which is titled, ‘Back-to-Basics: Polymer and Composite Testing.’

Who should attend?

Anyone who works with polymers and composites and is interested in both destructive and non-destructive testing.

What will you learn?

Attendees will learn the basics of polymer and composite testing, and why these interesting materials often need specialised test fixtures and some unusual test methods. Non-destructive testing, especially of certain composites, can also provide challenges, and understanding the limitations of techniques can help prevent a lot of wasted time. Attendees will go away with an appreciation of how polymers and composites can be successfully used to exploit their unique properties.

Speakers and Presentations:

Matthew Day, UK & Ireland Sales Manager at Dolphitech Ltd, ‘An introduction to Non-Destructive Testing’

Peter Fuller, Instron, ‘Destructive Testing’

History of The Welding Institute

This year, The Welding Institute celebrated one hundred years since it was established in 1923 as ‘The Institution of Welding Engineers.’

The formation as a professional engineering institution, supporting the development of Members in the fields of welding, joining and allied technologies, has enabled The Institute to act as a voice for industry, providing authoritative guidance to bodies including the British Standards Institution, the Engineering Council, and the UK government.

Licensed by the Engineering Council, The Welding Institute is an independent body promoting and advancing the welding, joining and allied technologies. The Institute is also licensed by the Engineering Council to assess Professional Members in becoming professionally registered as Chartered Engineers (CEng), Incorporated Engineers (IEng) or Engineering Technicians (EngTech).

 

Annual Dinner

This year saw several events to celebrate our 100^th anniversary, including a special centenary dinner at King’s College in Cambridge. The evening was a celebration of The Institute and was an excellent way to meet contacts from our wide Industrial and Professional Memberships, our academic partners and TWI's own staff. 123 people attended the event, including 50 people from The Welding Institute, who all got to hear speeches from Baroness Brown and The Welding Institute CEO Dr Aamir Khalid.

Riverboat Jazz Cruise

Another event which took place during our centenary year was The Riverboat Jazz Cruise, which took place on Sunday, 19November 2023. The Welding Institute celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the Institute of Welding Engineers with a riverboat cruise on the Thames, organised by the London and Kent Branches.

80 Professional Members, family members and guests attended, including TWI Research Director, Paul Woollin, TWI Group Manager for Marketing, Mike Emmett, London Branch Programme Secretary, Alan Denney and London Branch President, Eric Martin, who each gave a speech whilst cruising along the river.

IACS Ltd and IABCO (I.A Barnes and Company) sponsored the event, with guests boarding the boat, The Golden Salamander, and cruising along the Thames from Westminster to Tower Bridge. The guests were treated to prosecco/fruit juice upon arrival, which was then followed by a two-course buffet meal and live music from a three-piece jazz band.

Welding Institute Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Charter Launched

On 20 October 2023, Members of The Welding Institute attended the launch of the new Charter for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. The event was hosted by Dr Claire Kimpton (Chair of Professional Board) and, in the presence of the President Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Members showed their support for an open and all-inclusive organisation that aims to provide equality of opportunity to all, irrespective of grade or experience. Our President, committee and working group chairs signed a specially created charter document, which sets out and outlines our commitment.

Member Case Studies

Over the year, The Welding Institute has been publishing case studies from exceptional individuals who have volunteered for the Institute and those who are long serving Members from the UK and overseas.

Siew Yap Wong is one of our longest serving overseas Members. He joined The Welding Institute in 1970 as a Member and is still a Member to this day. When Siew Yap Wong became a Member of The Welding Institute he was working as a Welding Researcher Engineer at the British Steel Corporation. Since retirement, he has conducted a course on materials and their behaviours on the IIW (International Institute of Welding) at TWI Malaysia.

Another case study published this year was about long serving Member, Alan Gifford, who joined The Welding Institute in 1958, having started working in a small chemical factory laboratory, where he did all of his studies as day release and evening studies. After Alan retired, he continued to be a Member of CEN Committee for water tube boilers. Alan was always associated with both the East Midlands Branch and at TWI, where he was Chair of the former and a Member of TWI’s Council.

We also heard from Aaron Kirkbride, a Welding Engineer with Rolls-Royce Submarines. He became an associate student (AWeldI) Member of The Welding Institute in 2013 because one of his supervisors at the time was Chair at their local Branch. Aaron ended up becoming a Professional Member (MWeldI) once he became professionally registered and places a big emphasis on volunteering for The Welding Institute. He is a Committee Member and Young Members representative for the East Midlands Branch and was previously a Committee Member and the Secretary for the South-West Branch. Aaron also mentors colleagues applying for Membership, playing a crucial role within volunteering in The Welding Institute.

We also published a case study about Sophie Dawson EngTech TechWeldI, who is a Nuclear Welding Inspector (Project Inspector) at Sellafield Ltd. She chose to pursue an NWIT apprenticeship, as well as CSWIP 3.0 and PCNs Level 2 in DPI, MPI and UT NDT testing techniques. To complete her NWIT apprenticeship with Sellafield Ltd, Sophie needed to join The Welding Institute, following an interview with a TWI panel, which Sophie completed successfully.

Over the year we heard from many of our Members including some of our longest serving Members overseas as well as in the UK, and volunteers, students and those that are professionally registered. We would like to thank all those that contributed and those that read our case studies celebrating the individuals that make The Welding Institute.

The Welding Institute had a great year celebrating its 100^th Anniversary, we are extremely grateful to everyone who has made this year a success and for the continuous support - we look forward to the future ahead.

On Sunday, 19 November 2023, The Welding Institute celebrated the 100^th anniversary the Institute of Welding Engineers with a riverboat cruise on the Thames, organised by the London and Kent Branches.

80 Professional Members, family members and guests attended, including TWI Research Director, Paul Woolin, TWI Group Manager for Marketing, Mike Emmett, London Branch Programme Secretary, Alan Denney and London Branch President, Eric Martin, who each gave a speech whilst cruising along the river.

The event was sponsored by IACS Ltd and IABCO (I.A Barnes and Company), guests boarded the boat, The Golden Salamader, and cruised along the Thames from Westminster to Tower Bridge. The guests were treated to prosecco/fruit juice upon arrival, which was then followed by a two-course buffet meal and live music from a three-piece jazz band.

We would like to thank everyone who attended the riverboat cruise and also to thank those who organised this wonderful event for their hard work.

Hugh McPhillips IEng MWeldI, AWS is the Managing Director and owner of Genetic Education Training Services Ltd. Hugh has 35 years’ experience as a Lecturer, Workshop and Curriculum Manager at the College of North West London, as well as 12 years as an Education Consultant in Engineering. Hugh works with colleges and private training providers on course curriculum, apprenticeships and the new T-Levels.

Intro to you and your career in Engineering

When did you join The Welding Institute?

‘I joined The Welding Institute in 1973, after I had gained my Full Technological Certificate as a Tech WeldI Member.’

Please describe your current job role and responsibilities

‘I am working with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE), City & Guilds as a T-Level Ambassador, and as a Member of the Employers Information Board (EIB), which is working with The Royal Academy of Engineering. I am also working as a Technical Advisor for a new Virtual Environment Welding Programme alongside my own Welder Approvals Programme. I am also the Educational Editor on the Welding and Joining Matters Journal.’

Why did you choose a career in Engineering?

‘At school I did metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing as a part of the curriculum offer, and it was in these subjects that I had the most interest, this led me to a five year apprenticeship with Kodak Ltd on the maintenance side of the company.’

What is one of your biggest career highlights or achievements that you’re most proud of?

‘One of my biggest career highlights is submitting and becoming part of a national consortium to act as a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Welding and Fabrication, in conjunction with The Welding Institute, Keighley College and People’s College Nottingham, as well as being the National Training Manager for the WorldSkillsUK Construction Metalwork Competition.’

What is one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career and how did you overcome this?

‘One of my biggest challenges was keeping our fabrication and welding workshops open during a downslide in apprenticeship training by diversifying our curriculum offer and moving to a roll-on, roll-off programme, giving greater flexibility to clients and employers alike. We also became part of an innovative programme in classic car restoration skills, maintenance programmes for NHS Trusts and self-funded work, such as welder approvals.’

Early Professional Membership

Why did you initially join The Welding Institute?

‘I joined The Welding Institute as a means to gain additional learning, and being recognised as having reached a standard within a Professional Institute, with access to a wide network of organisations and professional colleagues.’  

Tell us a bit about the process of becoming a Member of The Welding Institute?

‘I initially joined as a Tech WeldI Member, and progressed to become an Incorporate Engineer and MWeldI.’

Professional Registration

Are you professionally registered?

‘Yes, I became an IEng and MWeldI in 2010 and AWS in 1990.’

What was the process of Professional Registration like and why did you choose to become professionally registered?

‘In both education and in business, having post–nominals gives you some prestige and identity within the industry.’

Current Membership

How has Professional Membership/Registration helped you throughout your career?

‘Professional Membership has given me access to a network of organisation and personnel, to assist me whenever I have needed support and guidance.’

What Membership benefits do you use the most and fin the most helpful and why?

‘One of the most helpful benefits is the technical access, association with other like-minded Institutes and knowledge of innovative processes.’

About Volunteering

What current volunteer roles do you undertake?

‘I volunteer in several roles: President and Chairman of the South West Branch of TWI, Branch Management Member, Virtual Panel Reviewer, Association of Welding and Fabrication Trainers in Education (AWFTE) Management Member and Educational Editor on the Welding and Joining Matters magazine.’

Future (Membership and Career)

What are your engineering aspirations?

‘One of my aspirations is to promote a new approach to how technical information is presented, to make it more user friendly and interactive. Another aspiration is to promote apprenticeships for all; regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or impairment, with effective support mechanisms and funding.’

Would you recommend Membership with The Welding Institute and why?

‘In my case it has helped to promote my working life and has given me an insight to other areas of the industry.’

What advice would you give or what would you say to your younger self beginning your career in engineering?

‘Some advice I would give is to be open to all opportunities, and be prepared to put in the ground-work, as it will pay dividends in the future. The more versatile you are the more employment opportunities will come your way. Also, never assume and always ensure that you double check any statements that you may make.’