Boilermaker

As a Boilermaker you fabricate, assemble, and maintain boilers, pressure vessels, and heavy structural metalwork used in industrial plants, energy facilities, and marine settings. Your daily work involves reading engineering blueprints, cutting and shaping metal sheets and tubes using oxy-acetylene torches and precision tools, and joining components through shielded metal arc, gas metal arc, or gas tungsten arc welding techniques. You inspect finished vessels for leaks, structural integrity, and compliance with safety standards, and carry out repair and retubing work on existing boilers. You typically work alongside mechanical engineers, other tradespeople, and site supervisors in manufacturing plants, power stations, refineries, or shipyards across Ireland.

A SOLAS-registered apprenticeship in Metal Fabrication (NFQ Level 6) is the most direct route into this trade in Ireland, combining on-the-job training with off-the-job phases at a designated Education and Training Board (ETB) or Institute of Technology. Leaving Certificate subjects such as Engineering, Construction Studies, Physics, and Mathematics are useful preparation and demonstrate relevant technical aptitude. Some candidates first complete a QQI Level 5 certificate in Engineering or Fabrication and Welding at a PLC college to build foundational skills before entering an apprenticeship. Boilermakers working on pressure vessels must be familiar with Irish and EU pressure equipment regulations and may pursue additional certification in specific welding standards such as EN ISO 9606. Employers and clients in the energy and industrial sectors often require certified welding qualifications, which can be obtained through bodies such as the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) or internationally recognised awarding bodies. Experienced boilermakers may progress to supervisory or inspection roles with further CPD or engineering qualifications at NFQ Level 7 or above.