Welder
Gas, arc, MIG and TIG welding of plates, pipes and structures, with weld inspection and workshop safety.
About this trade
Welding is one of the most immediately employable skills an ITI offers. The one-year course covers oxy-acetylene gas welding and cutting, shielded metal arc welding, MIG and TIG processes, welding of different joint types and positions, defect identification and remedies, and the safety discipline that welding work demands.
Where this trade can take you
Welder in fabrication workshops, shipbuilding, pipeline and structural work; site welder on construction projects; overseas employment, where certified welders are in steady demand; self-employment in fabrication.
Course structure
As with every trade under the Craftsman Training Scheme, the year is divided between practical work in the trade workshop — which takes the largest share of contact hours — and the supporting subjects:
- Trade Practical — the exercises and jobs that build the skill itself.
- Trade Theory — the principles behind the practical work.
- Workshop Calculation & Science — the arithmetic and applied science the trade depends on.
- Engineering Drawing — reading and preparing the drawings used on the job.
- Employability Skills — communication, workplace behaviour, basic IT and entrepreneurship, as prescribed by DGT.
Trainees are assessed internally through the year and sit the All India Trade Test at the end of each year. The full syllabus for this trade is published by DGT on Bharat Skills.
After the course
Trainees who complete the trade may take up employment directly, register for apprenticeship training under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme — which carries a stipend and counts as recognised experience — or apply for the Crafts Instructor Training Scheme to become an instructor themselves. Many also set up on their own account.