At a glance

  • Soldier
  • engineering

Whether it’s a 100ft bridge or a brand new base, your welding skills will be crucial. Get qualified – and prepare for an exciting Army life.

  • £25,200The minimum amount you’ll earn during training
  • £25,200Your pay after completing basic trade training
  • AgeFrom 16 years & 6 months to 35 years & 6 months
  • QualificationsGCSEs or equivalent
Fabricator

I was involved in the design and construction of parts for the M3 Amphibious Rig in Germany.

The Royal Engineers create everything from bridges to bases. You’ll get the training to build these structures, using hand and power tools, including oxyacetylene torches. You learn to work with metal – how to forge it, cut it and weld pieces together. Once you’re trained, you’ll be able to build steel frame buildings, fix glass-reinforced plastics and steel, and help with demolition projects. It’s work that could take you all over the world. Plus, you’ll get to make amazing friends, try sports and activities, and build a career. An exciting future starts here.
Fabricator is a Trade role in the Royal Engineers. All the Royal Engineer soldier job roles are divided into 5 groups. When you apply to the Engineers, you will apply to the trade group rather than the specific trade. 

The Corps of Royal Engineers allows the Army to work all over the world, whether it's involved in active combat or disaster relief. The Corps are ‘first in’, setting up bases ready for the rest of the Army to arrive and ‘last out’, closing down patrol bases and military camps. The Corps is at the forefront in disaster-relief operations, effecting rapid repairs to damaged infrastructure in stricken areas.

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Key Responsibilities

  • Specialise in metalwork

  • Learn fabrication and welding

  • Take part in demolition using oxyacetylene torches

  • Repair and make good in glass-reinforced plastics and steel

  • Construct steel frame buildings

Have any questions? Talk with us

fabricator

Regular (full time)

Entry requirements

  • Age:

    From 16 years & 6 months to 35 years & 6 months

  • Qualifications:

    GCSE Grade A–D/9-3, or Scottish National 4, in Maths, English Language and one other subject.

  • Basic physical fitness assessment:

    • Mid Thigh Pull 50kg

    • Medicine Ball Throw 3m

    • MSFT (beep test) level 7.5

    More information about the fitness test

Training for the role

Step 1
Your initial military training teaches you how to be a soldier, covering everything from fieldcraft to how to handle a rifle.

  • If you join as a Junior Soldier (under 17 years and 6 months), you’ll do a basic military training course at Harrogate.

  • If you join as a Regular Soldier (over 17 years and 6 months), you’ll do the regular adult Basic Training.

Step 2
Then it’s off to the Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment near Camberley, Surrey, for 12 weeks. Here, you learn military engineering skills such as knots and lashings, demolition, mine warfare and bridge building. Finally, you go the Royal School of Military Engineering in Chatham, Kent, for 32 weeks. Here, you learn how to use hand and power tools, and how to forge, weld and cut metal.

Qualifications you could get after training

  • Level 2 Apprenticeship (NVQ Technical Certificate and Functional Skills) in Fabrication and Welding (City and Guilds)

  • Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Fabrication and Welding Engineering - Manual Welding (City and Guilds)

Pay & benefits

You'll earn £25,200 a year from the start of your training, which will go up as you progress throughout your career.

How to Apply

Once your online application has been approved, you'll meet with a local recruiter. This is your chance to tell us about the role that you're interested in. When you go to the Assessment Centre, you'll take tests - the results will show whether you'd be suitable for this role, or should consider a different role.

More about the joining process

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