Apprentice Welder

Summary

We are looking for a cohort of Apprentice Welders to join our Infrastructure Energy division who design, build, and maintain critical national infrastructure on behalf of UK energy transmission and distribution network owners.

Wage

£17,936 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Training course

Pipe welder (level 3)

Hours

This is a permanent role working Monday- Friday, 8.00am- 5.00pm.

40 hours a week

Start date

Monday 1 September 2025

Duration

4 years

Positions available

8

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

This is an exciting time to join United Living on our Apprenticeship Programme as the business continues to grow and we have a significant order book of secured future projects. Our Infrastructure Services business delivers critical resilient infrastructure that improves daily life by partnering with our clients to achieve sustainable outcomes for their customers and communities.

We are looking for a cohort of Apprentice Welders to join our Energy division who design, build, and maintain critical national infrastructure on behalf of UK energy transmission and distribution network owners. Some of your key responsibilities will include:

Manually weld tubes and pipes to high standards of quality and integrity using a Manual Metal Arc (MMA) and a minimum of one other manual arc welding processes from Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG), Plasma Arc Welding (PAW), Metal Inert Gas (MIG)/Metal Active Gas (MAG) and Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW).
Continually monitor and adapt to achieve the quality of work demanded by high integrity piping systems, necessitating significant manual dexterity, and coordination.
Work to detailed engineering specifications necessary to ensure safe & reliable operation of the finished pipe work system.
Interaction with a wide range of people and organisations including Supervisors, Engineers, Pipe Fitters, Stores Operatives, Welding Inspectors, Non-Destructive Technicians, Quality personnel.
Pipe welders’ work is regularly assessed to ensure continued quality of welding though visual inspection, non-destructive testing and pre-commissioning pressure testing (hydraulic or pneumatic testing.
Responsible for the safety, quality, productivity and accuracy of their own work whilst ensuring it conforms to a relevant pipe welding specification.
Working autonomously during their planning and production activities to being an integrated part of a wider team working on the overall pipework system, reporting to a workplace supervisor
Clean and take care of company tools and equipment

Where you'll work

Willow House
9 Ashton Road, Golborne
Warrington
WA3 3TS

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

SMART TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT LIMITED

Your training course

Pipe welder (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

Work safely at all times, comply with health & safety and environmental legislation, regulations and organisational requirements
Obtain, check and use appropriate documentation (such as job instructions, drawings, quality control documentation)
Plan all preparatory tasks and interfaces and pipe welding activity, before commencing work
Obtain, position and assemble welding equipment and associated safety protection needed for each activity
Prepare, check and protect materials and work areas ready for welding
Inspect the assembly to be welded and undertake remedial work to comply with specification, or implement quality steps if rejected
Receive, inspect, condition and maintain consumables
Set, test, and monitor key welding parameters as detailed within the Welding Procedure Specification and adjust as necessary to accommodate changing orientation as the weld progresses around the pipe joint.
Set-up purge protection within the pipe bore and associate monitoring methods
Set-up bore side protection controls to avoid foreign material ingress into the pipe bore
Remove materials using manual processes, including powered and non-powered equipment
Achieve a quality of work to meet international standards e.g. ISO 5817, ISO 9606, ASME IX, ASME B31.3 for dimensional, surface inspection (e.g. Visual, Magnetic Particle, Dye Penetrant) and volumetric inspection (e.g. Radiography, Ultrasonic inspection, including Time of Flight and Phased Array methods).
Monitor weld quality and dimensions throughout welding activity and on completion of welding and report any issues through organisational production / quality control process prior to release for formal examination by others
Restore the work area on completion of the activity and where applicable return any resources and consumables to the appropriate location
Deal promptly and effectively with problems within the limits of their responsibility using approved diagnostic methods and techniques
Complete any required documentation using the defined recording systems at the appropriate stages of the work activity
Produce pipe welds using two welding processes from TIG, PAW, MMA, MIG/MAG, FCAW
Produce pipe welds using four material groups from Carbon Steel, Low Alloy Steel, High Alloy Ferritic/Martensitic Steel, Austenitic Stainless Steel, Nickel & Nickel Alloys, Aluminium & Aluminium alloys, Titanium & Titanium Alloys, Copper & Copper Alloys
Produce pipe welds covering ALL defined pipe welding positions. These are Flat - Rotated Pipe; Horizontal - Fixed Vertical Pipe; Vertical Weld - Fixed Horizontal Pipe (either upward or downward progression); Inclined - Fixed 45 degree Pipe Overhead (either upward or downward progression)
Produce pipe welds in 3 main joint configurations from Single Sided Butt, Socket, Flange and Set-on Branch.
Produce pipe welds in by continually adjusting the orientation of the welder, welding torch, and welding consumable filler, including restricted access conditions
Produce pipe welds in restricted access conditions by welding with both left and right hands (e.g. boiler tube bundles, proximity of other plant and equipment, limited access locations, welds located with limited visibility of the weld joint)
Work safely at all times, comply with health & safety and environmental legislation, regulations and organisational requirements
Obtain, check and use appropriate documentation (such as job instructions, drawings, quality control documentation)
Plan all preparatory tasks and interfaces and pipe welding activity, before commencing work
Obtain, position and assemble welding equipment and associated safety protection needed for each activity
Prepare, check and protect materials and work areas ready for welding
Inspect the assembly to be welded and undertake remedial work to comply with specification, or implement quality steps if rejected
Receive, inspect, condition and maintain consumables
Set, test, and monitor key welding parameters as detailed within the Welding Procedure Specification and adjust as necessary to accommodate changing orientation as the weld progresses around the pipe joint.
Set-up purge protection within the pipe bore and associate monitoring methods
Set-up bore side protection controls to avoid foreign material ingress into the pipe bore
Remove materials using manual processes, including powered and non-powered equipment
Achieve a quality of work to meet international standards e.g. ISO 5817, ISO 9606, ASME IX, ASME B31.3 for dimensional, surface inspection (e.g. Visual, Magnetic Particle, Dye Penetrant) and volumetric inspection (e.g. Radiography, Ultrasonic inspection, including Time of Flight and Phased Array methods).
Monitor weld quality and dimensions throughout welding activity and on completion of welding and report any issues through organisational production / quality control process prior to release for formal examination by others
Restore the work area on completion of the activity and where applicable return any resources and consumables to the appropriate location
Deal promptly and effectively with problems within the limits of their responsibility using approved diagnostic methods and techniques
Complete any required documentation using the defined recording systems at the appropriate stages of the work activity
Produce pipe welds using two welding processes from TIG, PAW, MMA, MIG/MAG, FCAW
Produce pipe welds using four material groups from Carbon Steel, Low Alloy Steel, High Alloy Ferritic/Martensitic Steel, Austenitic Stainless Steel, Nickel & Nickel Alloys, Aluminium & Aluminium alloys, Titanium & Titanium Alloys, Copper & Copper Alloys
Produce pipe welds covering ALL defined pipe welding positions. These are Flat - Rotated Pipe; Horizontal - Fixed Vertical Pipe; Vertical Weld - Fixed Horizontal Pipe (either upward or downward progression); Inclined - Fixed 45 degree Pipe Overhead (either upward or downward progression)
Produce pipe welds in 3 main joint configurations from Single Sided Butt, Socket, Flange and Set-on Branch.
Produce pipe welds in by continually adjusting the orientation of the welder, welding torch, and welding consumable filler, including restricted access conditions
Produce pipe welds in restricted access conditions by welding with both left and right hands (e.g. boiler tube bundles, proximity of other plant and equipment, limited access locations, welds located with limited visibility of the weld joint)

Your training plan

As part of your Apprenticeship, you will be enrolled onto the Level 3 Pipe Welder Apprenticeship qualification with one our training partner Riverside College. During the first year on your programme you will attend college full time at the Riverside and Cronton campuses, and will spend some of the holiday periods on site at our Golborne office. At the end of your first academic year, you will begin working on site full-time and will then attend college one day per week to continue your studies. You will be fully supported through a variety of methods such as classroom taught sessions, learning materials, and one-to-one support from your tutor or coach. They will also meet regularly with you and your line manager to ensure you are progressing through your programme.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

5 GCSEs including English, Maths and a Science (grade 4-9/C-A*)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
Attention to detail
Problem solving skills
Team working
Physical fitness

About this company

United Living is a leading infrastructure, construction, and property services company in the UK, comprised of four complementary businesses. We help our customers and the communities they serve benefit from resilient infrastructure, affordable homes, and improved living spaces that are fit for the future.

https://unitedliving.co.uk/ (opens in new tab)

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

You will be fully supported to continue your professional development upon completion of this programme

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

United Living Group

Rebecca Harrison

earlycareers@unitedliving.co.uk

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000320401.

Apply now

Closes in 26 days (Sunday 8 June 2025)

When you apply, you’ll be asked to sign in with a GOV.UK One Login. You can create one at the same time as applying for this apprenticeship.

After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.

Company’s application instructions

If you are ready to be part of our expanding team and contribute to our success, please visit our website and click the I’m interested button and submit an application. You will be required to submit a CV and if successful will be invited to attend an assessment day in July.

Cookies on Find an apprenticeship

Contents