A Message from Weld Australia's Chair

A MESSAGE FROM WELD AUSTRALIA’S CHAIR

As the 2022-2023 financial year draws to a close, I thought it pertinent to reflect on Weld Australia’s key achievements this year. At all times, the Weld Australia team focused on providing the resources and services that members needed most. Our primary goal is to ensure that the Australian welding industry remains locally and globally competitive, both now and into the future.

I am pleased to report that Weld Australia had a very successful 2022-2023 financial year. The organisation continues to record steady growth and a strong financial position. With re-investing and supporting the broader welding and fabrication industry always top of mind, a range of exciting projects contributed to our success.

Advocacy

Advocating for excellence in the welding industry with Federal and State Governments, other industry groups, major public authorities and private companies is an important aspect of Weld Australia’s operations.

Weld Australia’s advocacy agenda focused on training initiatives for the next generation of welders and fabricators, building a sustainable and productive local industry, and ensuring superior welding quality standards and public safety. We generated significant media coverage and political interest.

There has been a substantial shift in government thinking with a much greater emphasis on local fabrication. Representation at the Job Summit hosted by Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, revealed a strong intention to manufacture renewable infrastructure in Australia.

Events

Our calendar of in-person events returned across the country has remained strong. We have facilitated a range of member events, including partnering with TAFE NSW and TAFE Queensland on two highly successful Industry Drinks Nights.

We hosted the very successful and much expanded 2022 Welding Excellence Awards. The Awards proved so popular that we will host them again in October and November this year.

Planning is also well underway for the 2023 National Manufacturing Summit in Canberra on 2 and 3 August. The theme of the Summit is ‘Manufacturing the Energy Revolution: Industrial Opportunities from Renewable Energy’. By uniting industry leaders from both the manufacturing and energy sectors, the Summit aims to leverage the opportunities presented by the renewable energy revolution and translate these into action. The Summit will foster collaboration, drive innovation, and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, empowering sustainable growth and technological advancements in these interconnected industries.

Training and Skills

Our training department went from strength to strength, with hundreds of students completing courses this year, qualifying as International Welding Engineers (IWE), Welding Supervisors, and International Welding Specialists (IWS).

Our program of technical training—facilitated by international experts—featured the ASME Section IX course by Walter Sperko, and Design and Modeling of Welded Structures by Pingsha Dong.

Our work on the MEM2.0 Learning Resources project with the National TAFE Consortium continued, with pilot programs run in Western Australia. The feedback received from students, teachers and the TAFE has been exceptionally positive.

We expanded our Advanced Manufacturing School Outreach Program in New South Wales significantly, with over 80 welding simulators installed in more than 40 schools.

Our VET Centre of Excellence program with Corrections Victoria at HM Prison Langi Kal Kal commenced and is already returning great results. In 2022, Corrections Victoria expanded the VET Centre of Excellence model to deliver Fusion Welding to ISO 9606 certification standard to complement their Metal Fabrication industry at HM Prison Langi Kal Kal. Federation University delivers the training program with the support of Weld Australia and on-site prison industry staff. As part of the program, augmented reality training was introduced to expand the welding skills of the inmate learners to meet international standards.

Our qualification and certification services remained as popular as ever over the last 12 months, with a host of new companies certified to AS/NZS ISO 3834, EN 15085 and DIN 2303 In addition, numerous welders were qualified according to ISO 9606-1.

We are also working towards obtaining Joint Accreditation System-Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) accreditation for our AS/NZS ISO 3834 company certification program.

Industry Networks

With the appointment of an Industry Networks Manager, our activities in this space continue to grow. In the last 12 months, we launched the new Advanced Manufacturing Industry Network, and reinvigorated the Defence Industry Network. We are also in the process of establishing a Renewable Energy Industry Network.

With a whole host of exciting projects and programs underway, the new financial year is sure to be just as successful as the last. On behalf of the Board, I’d like to thank our CEO, Geoff Crittenden, and the entire Weld Australia team for their hard work and dedication.