Job Overview 

Welders cut, shape and join sections of metal plate and pipes in a wide range of industries. These include construction and engineering, transport, aerospace, and offshore oil and gas. They also carry out repairs on manufacturing equipment and machinery. 

Skills

You will need to have:

• good hand-to-eye coordination

• the ability to work accurately 

• good concentration levels 

• the ability to work without direct supervision 

• the ability to understand technical plans and drawings 

• good maths skills 

• the ability to solve problems 

• an understanding of safe working practices

Qualifications 

A common way into this career is through an Apprenticeship in engineering. To get on to a scheme, you will usually need four GCSEs (grades A-C), in subjects like maths, engineering, ICT, English or science. 

​Leighton Buzzard is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, near the Chiltern Hills and lying between Aylesbury, Tring, Dunstable and Milton Keynes. Located 36 miles northwest from Central London, the town is linked to the capital by the Grand Union Canal and the West Coast Main Line to London Euston. Situated on the River Ouzel, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border, it adjoins Linslade and the name Leighton Linslade is sometimes used to refer to the combination of the two towns; parts of this article also apply to Linslade as well as Leedon. For local government purposes, the town is part of the Central Bedfordshire district and is administered jointly with Linslade as the civil parish of Leighton-Linslade. Leighton Buzzard has undergone significant growth in recent years, and is now a significant commuter town within the London commuter belt, listed as the 32nd largest commuter town according to the 2011 census. Since 2011, it is likely that this trend has continued due to good transport links.