{"id":1550,"date":"2026-04-09T08:40:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1550"},"modified":"2026-04-09T08:40:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:40:05","slug":"bridging-the-welding-skills-gap-to-ensure-the-uk-can-meet-its-net-zero-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1550","title":{"rendered":"Bridging The Welding Skills Gap &#8211; Ensuring UK Can Meet Net Zero Targets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff<\/p>\n<p><meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no\"><meta http-equiv=\"X-UA-Compatible\" content=\"IE=edge\"><meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><title>Bridging The Welding Skills Gap to Ensure the UK Can Meet its Net Zero Targets<\/title><meta name=\"description\" content=\"\"><meta name=\"keywords\" content=\"\"><meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\"><meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Bridging The Welding Skills Gap to Ensure the UK Can Meet its Net Zero Targets\"><meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"\"><meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"website\"><meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/press-releases\/bridging-the-welding-skills-gap-to-ensure-the-uk-can-meet-its-net-zero-targets\/\"><meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bridging The Welding Skills Gap to Ensure the UK Can Meet its Net Zero Targets\"><meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p>Vital Energi have dual trained their first crop of welders in the essential skills of both arc welding &amp; oxyacetylene welding needed to deliver small &amp; large diameter district heating pipework.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst steel district heating mains are predominantly welded using Arc welding, pipework of 100mm or less must use differing methods due to the wall thicknesses of the steel pipe work. Oxyacetylene welding is a preferred method for this for pipe sizes 100mm and below, and the number of trained operatives in this area has dwindled in recent years, alongside the overall number of welders in the UK declining by a quarter over the last five years.<\/p>\n<p>As welders with the necessary skills are no longer available in the numbers required, Vital created a training programme at their \u00a32m training academy to upskill their existing workforce with the necessary skills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/vjqottg3\/arc-welding-banner.jpg?anchor=center&amp;mode=crop&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133637925218330000\" alt=\"Arc Welding Banner\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p>Ashley Walsh, Vital Energi\u2019s Managing Director of Heat Networks explains, \u201cOxyacetylene welding has been in decline, as a skill, for a while, which is worrying as we believe Heat Network Zoning will see a significant increase in the amount of district heating being installed, and this is a necessary skill for successful delivery.\u00a0 If this continues it will create a skills gap which will be a genuine barrier to the UK delivering heat networks and meeting its net zero targets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only way to address this is for organisations to take responsibility and train employees in the essential skills they will need to deliver heat networks to the high standard required for what is an essential part of the UK\u2019s energy infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The training sees Vital\u2019s employees undertake a 6-month training course under the guidance of an experienced welding tutor and, after passing practical exams at an independent UKAS testing house, become accredited to perform oxyacetylene welding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote\">\n<div class=\"wrap quote__wrap\">\n<div class=\"swiper-container js-simple-quotes\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"quote__holder\"><span class=\"quote__icon\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"36\" height=\"28\" viewbox=\"0 0 36 28\"><g fill=\"#F58220\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M12.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 5.681 28H2.033a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 12.319 0zM30.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 23.681 28h-3.648a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 30.319 0z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"quote__holder\">\n<p class=\"quote__text\">We continue to see an aging workforce when it comes to welders for pre-insulated steel pipes which truly brings the impending skills gap into focus and, unless we address it, we will see the industry fighting over an ever-decreasing skills pool and struggling to deliver district heating projects. This would be a disaster for the UK as we\u2019ve seen the positive impact heat networks can have on city-wide projects such as Torry, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds to name a few.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"quote__author\">Dave Hutchinson &#8211; Vital Energi, <span class=\"quote__position\"> Operations Director &#8211; Heat Networks concludes,<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p>Mr Hutchinson continues, \u201cThere has been some outstanding work done to create high standards for the industry, such as the Heat Network Code of Practice and the work being done through the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme, but this will only have an impact if operatives have the skills necessary to deliver a quality install and we are confident that graduates from our training course will have these skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first graduates from the project are now working to install major heat networks throughout the UK and we look forward to expanding the training to more Vital Energi employees.<\/p>\n<p>Ashley Walsh is Vital Energi\u2019s Managing Director for Heat Networks and has been instrumental in delivering some of the UK\u2019s largest district heating projects, including the Queens Quay, Liverpool Waters and Leeds PIPES.\u00a0 David Wilkinson, our Design Director sits on the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme Steering Group and has decades of overseeing the design of major UK heat networks and energy centres.\u00a0 Both sat down with us to discuss the key considerations for delivering heat networks and if you\u2019d like to see the conversation, <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/manage\/videos\/888669460\">click here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff Bridging The Welding Skills Gap to Ensure the UK Can Meet its Net Zero Targets Vital Energi have dual trained their first crop of welders in the essential skills of both arc welding &amp; oxyacetylene welding needed to deliver small &amp; large diameter district heating pipework. Whilst steel district heating mains are predominantly welded [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ve_media_section":[3],"ve_media_year":[],"ve_sector":[],"class_list":["post-1550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","ve_media_section-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1550"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_section&post=1550"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_year&post=1550"},{"taxonomy":"ve_sector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_sector&post=1550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}