Fitter / Welder Trade
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ITI (Trades) · pathway 43 of 50
Fitter / Welder Trade
ITI (NCVT) Fitter / Welder · Fitter 2 Years · Welder 1 Year
You might like this if you enjoy Building & fixing things
The road
- 1 Year SSLC — Class 10
- Exam year SSLC or Class 8 pass (no entrance exam)
- Fitter 2 Years · Welder 1 Year ITI (NCVT) Fitter / Welder
Where it goes after that
Work
- Fitter
- Welder
- Workshop Supervisor
- Maintenance Foreman
Study further
- Diploma Mechanical (Lateral)
- CITS (train to teach at an ITI)
- CoE advanced modules
Government
- Railways fitter and technician posts
- PSU trade apprentice (BHEL / HAL)
Your own
- Fabrication workshop
- Welding and job-work unit
Where to study it
In Karnataka · by district
Outside Karnataka: MSME Tool Room · NTTF (Nettur Technical Training Foundation)
A shortlist of well-regarded places, not every college. The full list for any year is the KEA seat matrix at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in.
- Specialise in
- Structural Welding · Pipe Fitter · Sheet Metal Worker
- Who can apply
- Passed SSLC / Class 10 for Fitter; the Welder trade also admits Class 8 passes. Minimum age 14.
Inside Fitter / Welder Trade
3 of the specialisations you can take within this course — what each one teaches, who it suits, and what you can choose once it is done.
Structural Welding
Joining steel so that it stays joined — the columns, beams, trusses, tanks and frames that hold up buildings, sheds, bridges and machines. A weld is a joint made by melting two pieces of metal together, and making one that is strong, sound and to drawing is one of the most portable skills there is.
What you would actually study
- Safety — eye and flash protection, fume extraction, fire precautions and protective clothing
- Manual metal arc welding — striking and holding an arc, selecting electrodes, setting current and running a bead
- Welding in all positions — flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead, which is what a real structure demands
- Joint preparation — edge preparation, fit-up, tacking and root gap
- Gas welding and gas cutting, including profile cutting of plate
- Inert gas welding processes, which current schemes include
- Reading drawings and welding symbols, and setting out a fabrication from them
- Weld defects, distortion control and visual inspection — spotting a bad weld before an inspector does
What the work is like
Fabrication yards and construction sites: cutting and fitting steel, tacking it into position, welding it out, then grinding and finishing. Hot, bright, noisy work, often at height or in a confined space, in heavy protective gear.
It suits you if
People with a steady hand and good concentration who can work slowly and hold still, and who are comfortable with hot physical work. Welding is a skill of the hand that comes only with hours of practice.
The honest part
Welding is genuinely demanding on the body — heat, fumes and awkward positions — and the protective equipment exists for good reason, because eye and lung damage from careless work is real and permanent. Set against that, a certified welder is one of the most sought-after tradespeople in the world, and it is welder qualification tests, not your ITI marks, that decide the good jobs. Get tested in the processes and positions industry actually wants, and keep those certificates current.
Finished this. What can you choose next?
- Apprenticeship in a fabrication, heavy engineering or shipbuilding unit
- Welder qualification tests for specific processes, positions and materials
- Advanced welding training in inert gas and pipe welding, which pay considerably more
- Trade posts in the railways, ordnance factories and public undertakings
- Lateral entry into the second year of a diploma in Mechanical Engineering
- Your own fabrication workshop, or contract welding work abroad
Pipe Fitter
Building the pipework that carries water, steam, gas, oil and chemicals through a plant or a building. Pipe has to be measured, cut, bent or fitted, aligned and joined so that it does not leak under pressure, runs exactly where the drawing says, and can still be maintained afterwards.
What you would actually study
- Pipe materials and fittings — steel, galvanised, copper and plastic pipe, and the elbows, tees, reducers and flanges that go with them
- Measuring, marking, cutting and threading pipe accurately
- Joining methods — threaded, flanged, socket and welded joints, and where each belongs
- Pipe bending and fabricating offsets to fit a run around obstacles
- Reading piping drawings and isometrics, and setting out a run from them
- Supports, hangers, alignment and slope
- Valves — types, orientation and installation
- Pressure testing and leak detection before a line is handed over
What the work is like
Plants, buildings under construction and shutdown jobs: measuring in place, prefabricating what can be made on the ground, then fitting it overhead or in a trench. Heavy physical work with a tape and a level always in hand.
It suits you if
People who can visualise a route in three dimensions, who are accurate with a tape measure, and who are strong enough for the material — pipe is heavy and unforgiving of a careless lift.
The honest part
Pipe fitting is tied to construction and plant projects, so the work moves and you usually move with it. The pairing that pays is fitting plus welding: a fitter who can weld the joint himself is worth considerably more than one who has to call somebody else, and most people who do well in this trade learn both. Shutdown work is intense and round the clock for short periods, and that is where a large part of the earning happens.
Finished this. What can you choose next?
- Apprenticeship with a piping, plant erection or process contractor
- Add a welder qualification, which roughly doubles the work open to you
- Erection and commissioning crews on refinery, power and process projects
- Maintenance fitter roles in process plants once you want steadier hours
- Lateral entry into the second year of a diploma in Mechanical Engineering
- Your own fabrication and piping contracting, or overseas project work
Sheet Metal Worker
Making things out of flat sheet — ducting, hoppers, panels, casings, trays, tanks and enclosures. You start from a drawing of a three-dimensional object, work out the flat shape that folds into it, mark it on the sheet, then cut, bend and join it. It is part geometry and part craft.
What you would actually study
- Development of surfaces — working out the flat pattern for a cylinder, cone, elbow or transition piece
- Marking out on sheet from a drawing, accurately and with minimum waste
- Cutting — shears, snips, nibblers and profile cutting
- Bending and forming — folding machine, rolls, and forming by hand over a stake
- Joining — seams, riveting, soldering, brazing and spot welding
- Fabricating ducting and enclosures from drawings
- Finishing — edging, stiffening and protecting the surface
- Safe handling of sheet, which cuts easily and is awkward to carry
What the work is like
Workshop fabrication and site installation, particularly air-conditioning ducting, kitchen equipment, electrical enclosures and machine guarding. Noisy work with sharp material, and installation usually means working at ceiling level.
It suits you if
People who are good at practical geometry without needing to be good at mathematics on paper, who are careful with layout, and who like making a finished object rather than a part of one.
The honest part
This trade rewards layout ability more than machine skill: anybody can be taught to run a folding machine, but working out the development for a transition piece so that it fits first time is what a workshop will actually pay for. Sheet is sharp and injuries from careless handling are common. The trade also sits behind steadily growing air-conditioning and ventilation work, which is not at all obvious from its name.
Finished this. What can you choose next?
- Apprenticeship in a fabrication, ducting or appliance manufacturing unit
- Air-conditioning and ventilation ducting fabrication and installation, where demand is growing
- Add a welder qualification to widen the fabrication work you can take
- Trade posts in the railways, ordnance factories and public undertakings
- Lateral entry into the second year of a diploma in Mechanical Engineering
- Your own sheet metal or ducting workshop