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Meet William

Welding Technician

Will is an apprentice pipe welder at Rolls-Royce

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What I do

I’m training to be a Welding Technician at Rolls-Royce, where we manufacture components for nuclear reactors that power submarines.

My job is to learn how to weld pipework properly, safely and precisely, so that one day I can work on parts that become part of the submarine’s propulsion system, which is what pushes it through the water.

How I became a technician

At school, my favourite subject was design and technology - resistant materials. That meant working with wood, metal and plastic. I also chose business studies and religious education for my GCSE options.

I knew I wanted to be an engineer, so while I was still at school, I started looking for apprenticeships.

I saw quite a bit about Rolls-Royce on social media and knew they had a good reputation, so when the apprenticeship advert came up, I thought that was the one to go for.

How I became a technician

My parents helped me apply, they said I could go to university if I wanted, but they thought an apprenticeship would suit me more because I already liked working.

I had been working in a coffee shop since I was 13 and then when I was older, I worked on a building site in the school holidays, so going into work felt quite natural to me.

I applied while I was still doing my GCSEs. It actually motivated me to pass, because I knew what grades I needed to get.

How I became a technician

I had my interview over the summer while I was working on a building site with my uncle, then I got the apprenticeship and started in September, not long after I turned 16!

I’m now in the third year of my four-year apprenticeship. The first year had a lot of written work, and learning about health and safety and engineering theory which is not my favourite.

I’m more hands-on, so I was eager to get on the tools, but that first year helped me understand why we do things before actually doing them, so it was really helpful.

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A typical day in my working life

I work on a two-shift pattern. One week I’m on the morning shift (6am to 2pm), and the next week I’m on the afternoon shift (1:30pm to 9:20pm). I also spend some days learning at college.

The first thing we do is a team briefing. We go through any health and safety news, anything that has changed and anything we need to know for the day. After that, I get my welding equipment and my personal protective equipment (PPE), from my locker.

A typical day in my working life

At the moment, I work in a welding workshop in the training school. There are about 15 welding bays, with apprentices in each bay learning the trade.

When I finish my apprenticeship, I’ll move to a big manufacturing warehouse where we’ll make the parts which will then be sent off to be used in the submarine builds (I won’t work on actual submarines!).

A typical day in my working life

Safety is the number one priority, so we work through a checklist before we start. That includes things like checking for leaks, looking for sharp edges and making sure everything is safe.

Then I start welding. I mainly do TIG welding, which stands for 'tungsten inert gas’, as well as manual metal arc welding (also called stick welding). With TIG welding, I hold a torch in one hand and a piece of wire in the other. With stick welding, the rod and shielding are all in one.

A typical day in my working life

As we learn more and move through the set stages, the welds get more difficult, and you have to do them in different, awkward positions too, to mimic what it’d be like to work on the real thing.

As well as learning to work in different positions, I need to learn to weld with different materials too, such as carbon steel and stainless steel.

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What I love about my job

The thing I love most is how unique the job is. Not a lot of people get to work in this sort of industry, so it’s a bit of a talking point.

Also, welding is a job where more people are retiring than coming into the industry, so there is a real need for new people.

I like that I’m learning a proper trade and training for something important.

The skills I use most

One of the biggest skills I use is communication. I think you have to be outgoing because you speak to lots of people you have not met before. A lot of them are older than me and know more than me, so being able to talk to people helps me learn and get the right opportunities.

You also have to be willing to learn. Welding is repetitive, so I have to keep trying the same weld again and again, practising until I get it right.

Resilience is important too. Sometimes a weld does not go the way I want it to, but I have to keep going.

Because of what we make, I also need to be precise and pay close attention to detail.  The work must be accurate and completed to a very high standard – if a weld isn’t strong enough, it could crack, and that would be really dangerous for a submarine underwater.

I like that I’m learning a proper trade and training for something important.
Be yourself and grab every opportunity. Don’t be scared to speak to people and to ask questions – everyone is human.

A little more about my everyday role

The best bits about working in a team

The welding apprentices are a really tight-knit group. There are about 15 of us and we are all in one area, which helps us get to know each other properly.

I also work with instructors who come around and give us pointers. I can ask them to show me how they would do something, then watch and learn from them.

Some of the instructors have worked in the industry for a long time, including all over the world, so they really know what they are doing. It's good having people around who understand what I am learning and can help me improve.

My favourite piece of equipment

As a welder, I couldn’t live without my hand grinder. It might sound boring, but it is probably one of the most important tools.

A hand grinder can have different discs attached to it, depending on what I need it to do. A cutting disc can cut metal and a flap disc can sand or clean it.

You can’t weld on bumpy or dirty metal, so if I need to remove a layer, I can grind it away until the metal underneath is smooth and clean. It’s also really useful if something goes wrong and I need to start again.

What I like to do in my spare time

In my spare time, I like going to the gym and watching football with my friends.

I have pretty much always played football, and I have done lots of different sports. When I was younger, I used to box and I also loved skiing. I still try to go skiing every year if I can.

I also like going on holiday and have trips to Zante, Ibiza and Tenerife planned.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

The achievement I’m most proud of is passing the first year of my apprenticeship.

The first year involved lots of written college work. It’s not what I am best at because I prefer the practical work, but I had to do it to understand the theory and the safety.

Getting through that first year felt like a big achievement. I was really eager to get on the tools, so passing that stage was a big moment for me.

A surprising fact about my job

A surprising thing is how much training goes into learning each type of weld.

We don’t just start welding straight away on anything we like. There is a syllabus, so I have a list of welds to complete and they gradually get harder.

For example, I might start with a pipe in one position, then move on to harder positions where I have to weld underneath, on top and on both sides. We also learn about different materials. It takes a lot of patience, practice and small adjustments to improve.

The next steps in my career journey

I’m in the third year of my four-year apprenticeship, so my next step is to keep improving my welding and complete the rest of my training.

At the moment, I’m mainly focusing on TIG welding because I have completed what I needed to do for stick welding. I’m doing more practical work now, both in the workshop and at college, and I want to keep building my skills so I can become a fully trained pipe welder.

The advice I’d give to someone younger

Be yourself and grab every opportunity. Don’t be scared to speak to people and to ask questions – everyone is human.

Talking to people is how I have learnt, got my name out there and made the most of the opportunities that have come my way.

A technician welding, wearing a welder's mask, with sparks flying.

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