General Welder Apprentice

Summary

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who wants study Welding in a practical environment at a National award winning apprenticeship employer in the Sheffield and Rotherham area.

Wage

£14,330 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

The current rates for our apprenticeships are: Year 1 - £14330 Year 2 - £Dependant on age Year 3 - £Dependant on age *Individuals aged over 21 years going into year 2 will be paid the appropriate salary for their age

Training course

Welder (level 2)

Hours

Initially Monday to Friday at the training centre and then moving to shift work with days and times to be agreed over a 7 day period.

36 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Monday 1 September 2025

Duration

1 year 6 months

Positions available

4

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

If you have (or are expecting to achieve) 3 GCSEs or equivalent (including English, Maths and Science) at D/3 Grade or better, you can apply to join this apprenticeship Programme.

If you join our 3 year apprenticeship programme Speciality Steels you will receive training and development in our onsite training centre and within our Structural engineering department.

General Welders Programme

Summary:

Year 1:

Our Apprentices will study with Sheffield College at our onsite engineering training centre based at our Stocksbridge site until moving into their first site attachment area at Rotherham, Brinsworth or Stocksbridge which may include shifts.

As a Speciality Steels Fabrication & welding apprentice you will achieve:

Training to a competent standard on welding equipment including MMA/MIG and oxygen fuel burning
Undertake welding and fabrication activities to create test pieces meeting international standards and surface inspections.
Study towards the level 2 certificate required for the apprenticeship standard
Preparation including all Health & Safety training ready for transition into the Structural and Fabrication Departments

Year 2:

As a 2nd year Apprentice you will move onto site attachments which may also include shifts within the Structural engineering department, which also will include the Rotherham, Stocksbridge & Brinsworth sites where you will:

Prepare for your end point assessment
Undertake Coded Welding Assessments
Work along side our expert structural and welding engineers to gain experience in order to develop your skills in this field of engineering

Year 3:

In the final year of your apprenticeship you will:

Continue to work along side our expert fabrication and welding engineers to gain further experience and progress to more complex tasks and projects within the structural and fabrication departments
Complete your end point assessment
Undertake a practical trade test and interview to confirm that you meet Speciality Steels high

Where you’ll work

7 Fox Valley Way
Stocksbridge
Sheffield
S36 2JA

Training

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

College or training organisation

SHEFFIELD COLLEGE, THE

Your training course

Welder (level 2)

Equal to GCSE

Course contents

Apply health and safety procedures including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Collect and use information - text and data. For example, manufacturer's instructions, manuals, job instructions, drawings and quality control documentation.
Prepare welding materials and work area: sourcing, checking and protecting.
Prepare welding machines or equipment and safety protection measures, for example, check calibration and maintenance dates, inspection for cable damage.
Check and use or operate tools and equipment.
Set, modify and monitor welding controls, for example, current, arc voltage, wire feed speed, gas flow rates, polarity, mechanised tractor units.
Identify issues and actions required. Escalate issues or concerns.
Use manual processes and equipment to remove material before and after welding.
Weld using processes, for example, tungsten inert gas (TIG), plasma arc welding (PAW), manual metal arc (MMA), metal inert or metal active gas (MIG or MAG), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), submerged arc welding (SAW), tractor-mounted metal inert or metal active gas (MIG or MAG), tractor-mounted flux cored arc welding (FCAW), tractor-mounted or orbital tungsten inert gas (TIG), tractor-mounted or orbital plasma arc welding (PAW).
Adapt welding technique to weld different material groups, for example, carbon steel, low alloy steel (3-7% alloy content), high alloy ferritic or martensitic steel (>7% alloy content), austenitic stainless steel, duplex stainless steels, nickel and nickel alloys, aluminium and aluminium alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, copper and copper alloys.
Weld materials in different joint configurations, for example, butt, T-butt, fillet, cladding or buttering.
Adapt welding techniques to weld materials in different positions, for example, down-hand, horizontal-vertical, horizontal, vertical-up, vertical-down, overhead, inclined.
Identify surface defects.
Apply visual inspection, dimensional and alignment checks.
Restore the work area on completion of the welding activity, for example, clean equipment and machinery, tidy the work area, return excess resources and consumables.
Communicate verbally with others, for example, internal and external customers, colleagues, supervisors and managers.
Follow procedures in line with environmental and sustainability regulations, standards and guidance. Segregate resources for re-use, recycling and disposal.
Follow equity, diversity and inclusion procedures.
Follow work instructions - verbal or written.
Apply team working principles.
Apply health and safety procedures including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Collect and use information - text and data. For example, manufacturer's instructions, manuals, job instructions, drawings and quality control documentation.
Prepare welding materials and work area: sourcing, checking and protecting.
Prepare welding machines or equipment and safety protection measures, for example, check calibration and maintenance dates, inspection for cable damage.
Check and use or operate tools and equipment.
Set, modify and monitor welding controls, for example, current, arc voltage, wire feed speed, gas flow rates, polarity, mechanised tractor units.
Identify issues and actions required. Escalate issues or concerns.
Use manual processes and equipment to remove material before and after welding.
Weld using processes, for example, tungsten inert gas (TIG), plasma arc welding (PAW), manual metal arc (MMA), metal inert or metal active gas (MIG or MAG), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), submerged arc welding (SAW), tractor-mounted metal inert or metal active gas (MIG or MAG), tractor-mounted flux cored arc welding (FCAW), tractor-mounted or orbital tungsten inert gas (TIG), tractor-mounted or orbital plasma arc welding (PAW).
Adapt welding technique to weld different material groups, for example, carbon steel, low alloy steel (3-7% alloy content), high alloy ferritic or martensitic steel (>7% alloy content), austenitic stainless steel, duplex stainless steels, nickel and nickel alloys, aluminium and aluminium alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, copper and copper alloys.
Weld materials in different joint configurations, for example, butt, T-butt, fillet, cladding or buttering.
Adapt welding techniques to weld materials in different positions, for example, down-hand, horizontal-vertical, horizontal, vertical-up, vertical-down, overhead, inclined.
Identify surface defects.
Apply visual inspection, dimensional and alignment checks.
Restore the work area on completion of the welding activity, for example, clean equipment and machinery, tidy the work area, return excess resources and consumables.
Communicate verbally with others, for example, internal and external customers, colleagues, supervisors and managers.
Follow procedures in line with environmental and sustainability regulations, standards and guidance. Segregate resources for re-use, recycling and disposal.
Follow equity, diversity and inclusion procedures.
Follow work instructions - verbal or written.
Apply team working principles.

Your training plan

General Welding (ARC processes) Level 2 Apprenticeship Standard - delivered at Stocksbridge Training Centre
Functional Skills if required

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

English, Maths and Science (grade D/3 or above)

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
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Problem solving skills
Number skills
Logical
Team working
Creative
Initiative
Non judgemental
Patience
Physical fitness

Other requirements

Your apprenticeship at Stocksbridge or Rotherham, will include time at college and a training programme that guarantees variety and hands on work. It’s an ideal blend of classroom and ‘on-the-job’ training. Benefits also include: • 35 days holiday per year running April to March (pro rata for those starting in September) • Up to a combined 16% pension contribution • Access to Free Parking • Retail Discount Scheme • Career Development and Training • Employee Assistance Programme • Excellent opportunity to join a friendly and supportive team in a rapidly expanding company with exciting development opportunities All apprenticeships are a three year fixed contract, which is sufficient time to complete your programme before being considered for a suitable substantive position.

About this company

LIBERTY Steel UK is the third largest steel manufacturer in the country, with a footprint that covers nine sites across England, Scotland and Wales. It employs over 2,000 people and has an annual steel rolling capacity approaching three million tonnes. With steelmaking heritage dating back to 1842, LIBERTY Steel’s sites in the UK have a wealth of expertise thanks to our team of metallurgists, steelmakers, engineers and technicians. Our capabilities range from electric arc, vacuum induction melting, mill processing and value added services. The business manufactures and distributes products supplied mainly into the aerospace, construction, automotive, oil and gas and energy industries domestically and overseas to over 60 countries. The UK business sits within LIBERTY Steel Group, which is the GFG Alliance’s global steel manufacturing arm. With a total rolling capacity exceeding 18 million tonnes it is one of the top 10 producers globally, excluding China. Liberty Steel UK is playing an active role in meeting the group’s global ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030. Its Speciality Steels business in Rotherham uses an electric arc furnace – a less carbon-intensive form of producing steel than blast furnace production – to melt scrap steel for rolling into downstream products for a range of high-specification industries including oil & gas and aerospace. The UK business also has plans to create a GREENSTEEL hub at its Newport site using renewable energy from sister company SIMEC Atlantis’ Uskmouth biomass plant to power a new electric arc furnace.

https://libertysteelgroup.com/uk (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

You can expect to start your career as a team member in a specific department. After that the next step would be to become a Craft Team Member, then onto a Team Leader. After that, there are numerous career paths that you could follow
You could become a Maintenance Technician, Engineerand Senior Engineer. Alternatively you might aim to be a Plant Engineer, Works Engineer and Director of Engineering
Alternatively, you might choose to move around different specialisms ‐ from production planning to safety

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

SHEFFIELD COLLEGE, THE

Stewart Parsisson

stewart.parsisson@sheffcol.ac.uk

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000315140.

Apply now

Closes on Saturday 31 May 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.

Cookies on Find an apprenticeship

Contents