Welders and cutting-torch operators are nationwide shortage occupation #24 for 2026 — TIG, MIG/MAG, SMAW, pipe welders. The Philippines trains them at scale and exports them to shipyards and Gulf fabrication; for Austria we source the NC III and diploma profiles the Pre-Check register was built for, and pre-test them to your WPS.
Metal construction, plant builders and vehicle-body shops across Austria list welders every year, and 2026 keeps them nationwide. Filipino welders come through TESDA welding NC II–IV — we source NC III and above for Austria — and through Subic and Cebu shipyards and Gulf oil-and-gas fabrication, welding to procedure for decades.
Coupons to your process, material, thickness and position at Prime Search's Makati workshop — MAG plate in PF, TIG root and SMAW fill on pipe where you need it — bend or macro tested; drawing reading. You watch live and interview the same day; formal EN ISO 9606-1 qualification is completed at your site on parameters the candidate has already welded.
The route is the Rot-Weiß-Rot card for skilled workers in shortage occupations: completed vocational training in the occupation, a job offer, at least 55 of 90 points, pay at collective-agreement level — no separate minimum — and a decision within eight weeks. Where the candidate's Philippine qualification is in the BMWET Pre-Check register, the AMS individual assessment of the training can be waived.
German is not a legal condition of the card, but it earns points (A1, A2, B1) and decides how fast a worker becomes productive; we prepare candidates in Manila on request — A2 for workshop roles, B1 for customer-facing work.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office with jurisdiction for Austria, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. The employer is always your company, directly.
Everything here is subject to the Fachkräfteverordnung in force, the AMS assessment and Austrian residence and labour law.
Not formal recognition — the AMS assesses the qualification on documents, and Pre-Check-listed trainings are pre-assessed. Coding to EN ISO 9606-1 is done at your site.
Two to four weeks to a tested shortlist; eight weeks for the decision; three to five months to arrival.
Presented only where the register or an individual AMS assessment supports the training; experience alone does not replace the qualification on this card.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.