Welding Certification 101The purpose of welding certification is to control standards and the quality of welding work in the metalwork industry. This industry has become hugely diverse and technical since its beginning 5000 years ago*, from when we have evidence of hard soldering and brazing and hammering to cause pressure-welding. Certification Part 1: If you want welding certification in a certain area, and you want to have your name on the National AWS Certified Welder Registry, you will have to be tested by an AWS Accredited Test Facility which has been approved by the American Welding Society (AWS). 
Because of the variety of materials, processes, thicknesses and welding positions, as well as all the different welding codes, there are thousands of welders who don’t seek welding certification and go to the trouble of getting certified. However, if you do, your chances are obviously better of getting the employment you want. There is also the aspect of safety to yourself and responsibility to others, especially in such areas as structural welding, pipe welding, pressure vessels, aerospace, etc. Certification Part 2: Welding certification usually includes bend tests or X-ray examination of your work, which must obviously look neat, and display the use of correct techniques. There is more to follow! Once you are certified, you don’t stay that way forever. You need to submit forms and records of your welding activities every six months. But this is not all bad, as it keeps you on top of your game, and records your growing experience for future jobs. Certification Part 3: Although there is some overlap of certification tests, you need to do your homework researching facilities that will give you the tests you need. There are no single welding certification tests that cover all types of welding. There are believed to be more than sixty different types of test for pipe welding alone! Many employers of welders prefer to give additional testing to ensure the standards they require. Although outside certified testers are often used to ensure objectivity, employers themselves can in fact become their own certified testing facilities covering the specific types of welding they require. Your new employer may decide to accept your certification from your previous employment if it seems appropriate for the work you are about to do, but this isn’t a hard and fast rule. They may require a different certification if they feel the work embraces more than you have been doing. Certification Part 4: To end off with, a word on the welding certification international scene... Standards of competence and performance criteria in the UK include NVQS, or SVQs (Scotland) These are assessments given in the workplace on an on-going basis. Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) monitors welding in Canada, together with standards set in the USA. The IWE (The European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting) is an umbrella organisation for welding in Europe, but specific requirements for certification in the different countries vary. There are also a number of qualifications available internationally, such as:
*[Brazed swords have been discovered, made by Sumerians during the bronze age which began in about 3000BC]. Copyright WcWelding.com All Rights Reserved. |