Do i need to do an apprenticeship?

[Mid Wales welder]

Hello all! I have searched on here a little about apprenticeships but no thread seems to give me what i am looking for so here i go.

When i finished school at 16 i went to college (sept 01) and did NVQ level 2 performing engineering operations and C&G 2290 level 3 welding and fabrication. This was first year full time and then second year one day a week while working for a welding company making gates, railings, balastrade, balconys etc for the other four days.

After this i lost my job at the company i was working for so for about 12 months i did odd jobs in welding and other trades got my driving and forklift liscenses and also did a further C&G course in Tig welding (ali & stainless steel) which was one day a week but cant remember the exact name without digging the cert lol!

Then i got a job working for a small welding workshop, again just the standard gates, railings, repair work etc. Did that for two years and then moved to a differant company which makes lots of differant things, big industrial heater and boiler units, proccess packaging production lines (big convayors, hoppers and the components etc), steel frame buildings, harvest and tipper trailers, just allsorts really! Have been there ever sinse.

I am looking to get more into the higher end TIG work, possibly coded. I find this sort of work very interesting and enjoyable, would also like the higher pay but thats just a bonus! However i dont have a lot of experience in this field.

So my question is do i need to do an apprenticeship to get into the bigger companies and gain the experience? or am i now to old for this (i'm 27) and if this is not the way to go about it then what is?

Any help on this subject would be very much appriciated!!

So for the long post (and spelling lol!) just thought i should give my backround to paint a better picture.

Thanks, Dave.

 

[madkayaker]

An apprentership is not going to give you anything you haven't all ready got. It's possibly worth speaking to local college about what coding training and assessment they offer but I'm not sure if a generic coding will give you any more standing than the experience you have and specific codes are very job specific so unless you have a job offer in mind then chances of getting the right one might be slim.


You might be as well putting together a portfolio of the work you have done with drawings etc if you can so that you can take it with you to interviews and show what you have done a bit like an extended NVQ or like what company's do to pitch for jobs

 

[Mid Wales welder]

Thanks for the reply! Yes a portfolio is a good idea, i have been thinking about that and have allready been taking some pictures of my work. Have also thought about codings but as you say they are job specific and a company would usualy want you to re take the coding with them anyway, the only good thing about doing a coding is that i could show i have allready done a coding in the past.
I have no specific job in mind, just anything to do with TIG and maybe stick.
The problem i have is that most jobs i see advertised ask for time served welders and from what i have gleaned on here that means apprentice trained only.
Also i dont have the expierience required to walk straight into a TIG welding job, This is why i was thinking an apprenticeship.

 

[Engineer1964]

agree with the above, employers now are looking for experiance first paperwork second, If your experianced and can do the job you should do well, don't worry too much to get a handfull of papers

 

[Mid Wales welder]

Its more the expierience that i need, but how do i get this if no company will take me on in the first place? swings and roundabouts.....

 

[madkayaker]

Time served just means you have done technical training, NVQ and have experience all of which you have.

 

[Mid Wales welder]

Time served just means you have done technical training, NVQ and have experience all of which you have.

Ah rite, ok! I thought when someone asks 'where did u serve your time' it just meant where did u do your apprenticeship. I guessing its a bit more general than that?!