Plater/Fabricator

Platers help to prepare steel or other metal plates and sections for the manufacture of items such as power station boilers, pressure vessels for chemical plants and refineries, and storage tanks for oil and other liquids. They also work in shipbuilding and in the production of structural steelwork for oil rigs, bridges and buildings. They work with various thicknesses of metal plate ranging from 5mm to over 100mm. Fabricators cut and shape thin sheets of metal using hand and machine saws, metal cutters and small presses and rollers to create bends and curves. Some fabricators use huge presses to make mass-produced items such as car bodies.

Platers/fabricators normally work 37 to 39 hours a week, possibly in shifts. Overtime is common and many people work longer hours. They may work in large workshops, which can be noisy and hot, or outdoors in all weather conditions. They wear protective clothing and equipment, including ear protectors, boiler suits, gloves, helmets, safety glasses or visors and safety boots.

Salaries range from around £12,000 a year to £35,000 a year.

Platers and fabricators need:

• practical hand skills for using tools and equipment
• computer skills for using computer-controlled machinery
• good concentration skills for using machinery safely and accurately
• to be able to understand technical drawings
• to have normal eyesight and good colour vision, as colour coding is often used to mark plates.

Platers and fabricators work across the UK for boiler and pressure vessel fabrication plants, heavy machinery manufacturing companies, companies making products from sheet metal and platework fabrication plants. They also work for engineering and civil engineering companies involved in projects that call for large metal structures, such as oil rigs and storage tanks.

Employers normally expect entrants to have GCSEs (A*-C) in English, maths and a science subject, or equivalent qualifications. The Diploma in engineering may be relevant for this area of work. Entry may be by craft training on the job through a Foundation Apprenticeship in engineering leading to NVQ Level 2 qualifications or a Craft Apprenticeship in engineering construction under the ECITB Apprenticeship Scheme leading to NVQ Level 3 qualifications.

It is also possible to enter by studying courses at colleges of further education leading to City & Guilds Awards or BTEC Awards in related subjects, covering areas such as metal fabrication and welding skills, or mechanical and manufacturing engineering. Also available is the Skills and Technical Certificate of Training through which employers recruit new staff or retrain existing staff. Developed by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), the scheme leads to craft status for unskilled and semi-skilled adults.

A plater or fabricator may progress to become a foreperson, technician, supervisor, manager or trainer. It is possible for those who have completed their craft training to train as engineering technicians.

Further details