Skills Academies

Helping Londoners get jobs in the Welding industry

At the London Welding Academy, we pride ourselves on providing high-end development courses to boost skills and train individuals to be able to succeed in the workplace.

Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welders are an essential part of the metal fabrication process for transportation, aerospace, railway, automotive and construction, and industrial sectors.

The number of welders in UK has fallen by a quarter in five years. The London Welding Academy was launched at CONEL in partnership with Paddington, part of Ardmore, in January 2022 to increase the number of qualified welders and get them into the workplace.

The new academy at the college’s Enfield Centre, provides apprenticeship training for off-site manufacturing specialist Paddington, part of the Ardmore Group based in Brimsdown.

Barry Connelly, CONEL’s Strategic Adviser for Engineering Development, said: “Welders are essential to many industries, from shipbuilding, aerospace, oil, and gas to automotive, construction, boiler making, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and engineering. Welding is no longer the dirty, low-paid job that many people imagine. New technologies make it clean, safe, and more importantly a well-paid industry.

“There are a limited number of welding training providers in London, and many do not offer a specific welding apprenticeship to train and develop welders to the professional standards that industry requires. That’s why we’re very excited to launch the London Welding Academy with Ardmore, which will provide skilled workers to meet the demands of the industry and support the UK’s economic recovery.”

Ardmore began looking for an apprenticeship training provider in May 2021 after deciding to return to its previous business model of growing and developing its own workforce.

The company worked with CONEL to develop a Welding Level 3 Apprenticeship training program that will help Paddington fill its skills gap by employing local people on good salaries to work on its developments across the UK. Apprentices will complete training, which normally takes 2-3 years, within 18 months. Those who successfully qualify are guaranteed jobs with Paddington, working on a range of developments from commercial and residential schemes to world-class hotels.

Cormac Byrne, Managing Director of Ardmore, said: “We’re used to doing things differently at Ardmore. Not many construction companies can boast their own supply chain and create something as important to the local and national economy at such a pace. The experience and skills they will get from being part of the welding academy will set them up for fulfilling careers.”

The academy provides apprenticeship training at the college’s purpose-built workshop at its Enfield Centre. Learn to:

• Weld to a high commercial standard using Manual Metal Arc (MMA), Metal Inert Gas (MIG), and Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) electric arc welding processes
• Test and evaluate the quality of welded joints
• Read, comprehend, and use engineering drawings to accurately mark out the features required for platework fabrication
• Know how to interpret the weld symbols and conventions used to represent welded joints 
• Produce platework fabrications using various modern assembly methods, joining methods, and materials
• Safely use various hand and power tools
• Gain completely transferable skills that will be respected and accepted anywhere in the world

Student Testimonials

“My first 5/6 weeks of being here at the college have been incredible, I have loved every minute of it. All the staff have been incredible, and all the facilities are outstanding. Every single day that I come here doesn’t feel like I am working so the fact that I am getting the opportunity to be funded whilst learning my trade is the best part of the job and fuels me to go further.”

MATTHEW

Welding Apprenticeship and Level 3 advanced diploma in Manufacturing and Engineering

“I chose to do an apprenticeship as I couldn’t get into employment based on the qualifications I did have. You are gaining qualifications and experience from an employment perspective giving me the qualification to be competent in this field”.

ELLA

Welding Apprenticeship and Level 3 advanced diploma in Manufacturing and Engineering

Learn welding skills with some of the biggest names in the sector

Ardmore (Paddington), one of the largest family-owned construction groups in the UK involved in hundreds of major projects across the nation (mainly London)

How to apply

Interested in joining the London Welding Academy?

Learn relevant skills to develop a career as a Welder with the ability to perform welding jobs to a high standard whilst maintaining safety procedures. To take part in this academy you must either be enrolled in a relevant course or employed in a relevant apprenticeship role.

To take part in the skills academy you must either hold an employment contract where the employer has agreed to take part in an apprenticeship scheme where you can then take your training at our Enfield College facilities to obtain your professional qualification.

Examples of available qualifications include:

• Engineering Level 3 Advanced Diploma (Requires Apprenticeship employment)
• Engineering Maintenance Level 3 (Requires Apprenticeship employment)

Or be enrolled in the full-time college PEO Performing Engineering Operations Level 2 study program (located at the Enfield Centre).

If you do not obtain Maths and English GCSEs graded C or above (or equivalent), you will need to complete functional skills either prior to these courses or during.

If you are unsure of which study path to take, please check out our level equivalence table. You can also speak to one of our apprenticeship advisors by filling in the form below.

We look forward to hearing from you!