A fabrication shop runs on fitters who read the drawing and welders who follow the WPS — in that order. The Philippines supplies both from Gulf steel-structure shops and shipyards, and every country we serve sponsors them as qualified trades.
Gulf steel-structure shops and the Subic and Cebu yards built a workforce that fits from drawings — marking, cutting, fit-up, tack, distortion control — and welds FCAW and SMAW in all positions to AWS D1.1 and class rules. For a European shop under EN 1090 the welders requalify to EN ISO 9606-1 in the first week; the fitters need the drawing conventions pointed out once. Supervisors with English and welding-coordination experience come from the same yards.
Fitters: an assembly fitted and tacked from your drawing, checked for dimensions and squareness. Welders: coupons to your WPS in 3G/4G (and 2G/overhead where you need them) with VT and MT or UT. Plate and sheet-metal: a plasma-cut and press-brake routine to tolerance. Supervisors: a welding-coordination and planning interview. Painters and blasters: a surface-preparation standard.
Welders are qualified trades, and almost every country we serve sponsors them: Australia (Welder (First Class) and Metal Fabricator on the Core Skills list, TRA skills assessment), Germany (experience route for diploma holders or recognition), Austria (welders on the 2026 shortage list, Pre-Check register for Philippine qualifications), Croatia (welders and ship welders exempt from the labour-market test), the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania and Hungary on national permits, Norway for offshore and yard work, the Gulf on employer sponsorship. Flanders admits welders through its regional medium-skilled list; the Netherlands through skilled routes only. The country decides the timeline more than the trade does.
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 for the destination, 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 Philippine ban on direct hiring applies; the employer is always your company, directly.
Everything here is subject to the permit, qualification and licensing requirements of the destination country and the welding codes your contract specifies.
Candidates with IWS/IWT-level experience are rare but exist; brief the execution class and we screen accordingly.
Operators who load, program offsets and inspect come from automotive-parts plants; see the automotive hub.
See the stainless and aluminium guide.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.