Welding institute to train 1,000 pros

Faced with a huge shortage of skilled manpower in the growing space of welding technology, the Indian Institute of Welding (IIW) is planning to train and certify at least 1,000 students per annum across 33 centres in India beginning July this year.

It is planning to set up two training centres each one in Orissa and Kolkata which, along with the existing two at Kochin and Bangalore, and will conduct nationwide examinations for both short term and long term courses. The certificate will be equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering (BE) affiliated to the International Institute of Welding (InIW), France.

The move assumes significance mainly because of growing investment on infrastructure. The government has allocated a sum of Rs 320,000 crore for infrastructure development during the current fiscal year which, if implemented, will use 7 million tonnes of steel and about 28,000 tonnes of welding materials. By 2020, India’s demand for welding materials is estimated to range between 4- and 4.5 million tonnes on a projected steel consumption of 100 million tonnes from the current use of 2 million tonnes and 55 million tonnes respectively. This will require at least about 1.5 million trained manpower for welding.

“IIW-trained technocrats may find jobs not only in India but also abroad as welding engineers are required everywhere,” said C C Girotra, president of IIW.

The institute has trained so far 145 engineers under the auspices of InIW who are placed in the country’s largest engineering including Larsen & Toubro. A number of them have started their own business in steel welding while other graduates opted their career abroad. On the one hand, advances in inverter technology has shrunk the size of the welding machines considerably leading to a higher degree of parameter control, welding automation and mechanisation is on the rise for improved productivity, there is huge demand for qualified or certified welding technicians, supervisors and engineers.

India, currently, meets hardly 70 per cent of trained welder demand. The absence of certification of nearly two-third of the estimated nine lakh practicing welders in the country could expose many infrastructure projects to grave risk, claimed R Srinivasan, vice president of IIW. More than 650,000 welders are uncertified and under qualified, to carry on this critical function of structure which ensures safe and strong joints. The course fee varies between Rs 27,000 and Rs 60,000 per student for the period between 4-6 weeks.