Birkenhead’s Engineering College is launching a new commercial welding training centre after gaining CSWTO certification from TWI Certification Ltd.
The Engineering College facilities, equipment and staff were found to be fully compliant with the requirements of the Certification Scheme for Welder Training Organisations.
The college which rebranded in October 2016 currently trains 330 apprentices. It works with more than 70 clients operating across sectors including construction, nuclear, petrochemical, renewables, oil and gas, health and maritime.
Engineering College CEO Terry Weston said the new welding training facility has been set up specifically in response to industry demand. It also forms part of the college’s broader expansion plan to double in size in the next five years.
Located in Monks Ferry, Birkenhead, the new training facility includes eight top specification welding bays with state of the art extraction systems set over a 200m2 work area. Further investment has been pumped into classrooms with new IT facilities to deliver technical training and testing.
“Since re-branding in late 2016 our commercial welding team has been working tirelessly alongside The Welding Institute to set up a certified commercial welding training and testing centre,” he said. “Feedback from a number of companies we work in partnership with highlighted the lack of certified welding test centres in the local area. Collectively we saw the opportunity to tackle the training gap. However, we are not only here to undertake welder qualification testing, we are also here to train and develop welders to meet the skills shortage in an ever-growing industry.”
The new welding training centre is led by CSWIP Welding Examiners Kevin Cairns and Nick Meadows, and offers welder training and examination to a wide range of standards including: ASME IX, BS EN ISO 9606, BS 4872, and other international standards, for a range of welding processes, including Manual Metal Arc (MMA); Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW); Metal Inert/Active Gas (MIG/MAG); and Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG).
“Kevin and Nick have a multitude of experience from industry based welding to training and development of apprentices” said Mr Weston. “Welder training will be delivered according to customer specifications using a wide range of materials and processes in a variety of positions. Importantly, training can be tailored to suit company requirements and to match production requirements and staffing levels.
“At the Engineering College, we pride ourselves on our ability to work with a wide range of engineering companies, both locally and nationally. We believe that our strong working relationships are a direct result of being able to tailor courses to suit both company needs and an individual candidate’s requirements. This will always form a major part of our ethos moving forward. We always operate an open-door policy to all existing and potential new clients, and encourage anyone who is interested in our facilities and services to make contact.”
For more information:
Call 0151 666 1028