SOUTH AFRICA · SALARY IN RANDS

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

What the work involves, the skills employers want, and how to get started in South Africa.

  • Assembly Line Brazer
  • Brazer
  • Fabrication Welder
  • Maintenance Welder
  • MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder)
  • Solderer
  • TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas Welder)
  • Welder
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What do Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers do?

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers are skilled tradespeople who work with metals and thermoplastics to create and repair structures and components. These professionals utilize various techniques to join materials together, ensuring the integrity and quality of the final product. Welders primarily create joints by melting and fusing metals using heat, while cutters utilize tools to modify metal shapes and structures. Solderers and brazers, on the other hand, rely on the application of filler materials at lower temperatures to bond metal parts, making them crucial in electronics, plumbing, and metalworking industries. The work of these tradespeople is often essential in construction, manufacturing, and maintenance, contributing to the creation of everything from bridges and buildings to intricate machinery and electronic devices. Attention to detail, a strong understanding of various materials, and safety protocols are critical components of their profession, as the work often involves high-temperature processes, potentially hazardous environments, and the need for precise craftsmanship.

What the work actually is

  • Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
  • Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
  • Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
  • Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
  • Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment.

Skills employers expect

Skills

  • Quality Control Analysis Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  • Monitoring Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities

  • Arm-Hand Steadiness The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Near Vision The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Finger Dexterity The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Problem Sensitivity The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Control Precision The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Knowledge

  • Production and Processing Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  • Mechanical Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

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How people get into it

Education of new hires

High school diploma or equivalent
or: GED, High School Equivalency Certificate
Less than high school diploma
Post-secondary certificate
Awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in Personnel Services, Engineering-related Technologies, Vocational Home Economics, Construction Trades, Mechanics and Repairers, Precision Production Trades)

A normal week

  • Getting Information
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  • Handling and Moving Objects
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings

Tools used on the job

Technology

  • Electronic mail software IBM Notes · Microsoft Outlook
  • Analytical or scientific software Fred's Tip Cartridge Picker · Scientific Software Group Filter Drain FD · Value Analysis
  • Data base user interface and query software Oracle Database · Recordkeeping software
  • Spreadsheet software Microsoft Excel
  • Office suite software Microsoft Office software

Tools

  • Blow torch Motorized cutting torches · Oxyacetylene torches · Pattern cutting torches
  • Drill press or radial drill Drill presses · Portable magnetic drill presses · Punch presses
  • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus Oxyacetylene welding equipment · Rod ovens · Storage ovens and hot boxes
  • Welding electrode Underwater electrodes · Welding electrodes
  • Manlift or personnel lift Hydraulic truck lifts · Swing stages

Who it suits

Realistic

Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.

Conventional

Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

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Questions people ask

How much do Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers earn in South Africa?

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers salaries in South Africa vary by experience, province and employer.

What do Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers do?

Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits, Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications and Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.

How do I know if this career fits me?

Take the free Assessify career assessment. It matches your answers to careers and shows the South African salary next to each one.