South West College (SWC) Welding Academy 2024/26 (Cohort 4) - Application Form

Overview

Overview

This Welding Academy is supported by the Department for the Economy and delivered in partnership with the South West College (SWC), Cookstown. It will provide 12 individuals with the skills to take up welding roles with one of the supporting companies: Bruce Engineering,Turco Engineering, NC Engineering, Kennedy Engineering, QMAC Engineering, Specdrum/Specfab, TBC Conversions, Tracey Concrete, Keystone, Portafil International Ltd, Coote Engineering, STEMFAB Engineering.

The Welding Academy consists of a six week training course during which participants will study ETCAL Level 2 Performing Engineering Operations and Certified Abrasive Wheels Training.

An introduction to Robotic Welding (Valk) is being offered to all on the Academy who want to avail of the opportunity. Students will acquire the skills to set up and operate the robot to perform a basic welding task.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Eligible applicants will be invited to an Information Session and Interview which will be held week commencing Monday 4 August at SWC Cookstown Campus. 

TRAINING

Successful applicants must be able to attend six weeks intensive training at SWC’s dedicated training venue in Cookstown starting Wednesday 20 August 2025 to Tuesday 30 September 2025.

• Participants will be paid a £180 weekly training allowance while in training
• Participants will be paid reasonable travel expenses covering their return journey from their place of residence to the college while in training.
• Participants may be eligible for assistance with childcare costs while in training.

Essential Criteria 

Applicants must:

• be at least 18 years old 
• have a right to work and to undertake Assured Skills Training in the UK at the point of application and not be disqualified from doing either by reason of their immigration status. Proof of this will be required in order to progress to interview.
• Evidence of these criteria will be required not later than 4 August 2025 if selected for interview

**Applicants should be aware that the companies may apply additional right to work criteria at point of employment and a job offer is not guaranteed.

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If living outside Northern Ireland – by accepting an offer of a place on this pre-employment training Academy, you are committing to attending  training and pursuing a job opportunity with one of the supporting companies based in Northern Ireland.

Applications Open

Applications are welcome from everyone who meets the essential criteria and are particularly welcome from persons returning to work from a period of caring for their children or other family members.

If you have a disability and require assistance in completing this form please email Assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk or by telephoning 028 9041 6972.

Correspondence Regarding Your Application

All correspondence relating to your application will be via email from assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk. It is your responsibility as applicant to act as required within the given time frame.

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To whitelist the assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk email address, you may wish to:

• Open your email client and navigate to the settings.
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The exact steps may vary depending on the email client you are using.

If you do not receive an email about your application by 1 August 2025 please contact assuredskills@economy-ni.gov.uk and put SWC Welding Academy Cohort 4 in the subject line.

To find out how we manage your information please see privacy notice below:

https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/assured-skills-academies-privacy-notice

If you wish to make a complaint about the Assured Skills programme, please email assured.skills@economy-ni.gov.uk or telephone 028 9041 6941.