Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Pipeline maintenance worker to pipe welder

A pipeline maintenance worker already meets 39% of what the pipe welder role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From pipeline maintenance worker
39 % overlap
Distant match
To pipe welder
20 You already bring
13 Still to learn
71 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

70.7/ 100

1 How much of what a pipe welder is expected to do is already part of a pipeline maintenance worker’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the pipe welder role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A pipe welder role treats 15 of its required skills as things a pipeline maintenance worker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • apply health and safety standards
  • assemble manufactured pipeline parts
  • cooperate with colleagues
  • detect flaws in pipeline infrastructure
  • ensure regulatory compliance in pipeline infrastructures
  • follow up pipeline integrity management priorities

What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pipe welder role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a pipeline maintenance worker background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held follow up pipeline integrity management priorities management skills
  • already held use rigging equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held assemble manufactured pipeline parts constructing
  • already held pipeline coating properties engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held security requirements of goods transported via pipelines services
  • already held comply with pipeline transport regulations assisting and caring

All 20 carried skills, including the 15 the pipe welder role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 51 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 constructing 4 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn consider the impact of material characteristics on pipeline flows required
  • still to learn guide drill pipes required
  • still to learn install metal gas piping required
  • still to learn lay pipe installation required
  • optional, not held install septic systems optional
  • optional, not held join metals optional
  • optional, not held lay sewer pipe optional
  • optional, not held prepare copper gas-lines pipes optional
  • optional, not held repair pipelines optional
02 handling and moving 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn clear pipelines required
  • still to learn use wrenches required
  • still to learn work with blacksmithing hand tools required
  • optional, not held heat metals optional
  • optional, not held cast metal optional
03 working with machinery and specialised equipment 2 required, 10 supplementary
  • still to learn use metal bending techniques required
  • still to learn use measurement instruments required
  • optional, not held maintain mechatronic equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain robotic equipment optional
  • optional, not held operate hydraulic pumps optional
  • optional, not held operate printing machinery optional
  • optional, not held operate pumping equipment optional
  • optional, not held operate sumps optional
  • optional, not held transport pipes optional
  • optional, not held operate automated process control optional
  • optional, not held operate forklift optional
  • optional, not held operate pumps optional
04 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn hydraulics required
  • still to learn technical drawings required
  • optional, not held metal and metal ore products optional
  • optional, not held automation technology optional
  • optional, not held maintenance operations optional
  • optional, not held mechanics optional
  • optional, not held mechatronics optional
  • optional, not held robotics optional
  • optional, not held types of metal optional
05 management skills 1 required
  • still to learn perform follow-up on pipeline route services required
06 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required
  • still to learn isometric perspective required

5 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a pipe welder role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 20 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply health and safety standards skill
  • already held assemble manufactured pipeline parts skill
  • already held cooperate with colleagues skill
  • already held detect flaws in pipeline infrastructure skill
  • already held ensure regulatory compliance in pipeline infrastructures skill
  • already held follow up pipeline integrity management priorities skill
  • already held inspect pipelines skill
  • already held measure parts of manufactured products skill
  • already held operate soldering equipment skill
  • already held operate welding equipment skill
  • already held pipeline coating properties knowledge
  • already held prevent pipeline deterioration skill
  • already held test pipeline infrastructure operations skill
  • already held types of pipelines knowledge
  • already held use rigging equipment skill
  • already held comply with pipeline transport regulations skill
  • already held follow verbal instructions skill
  • already held follow written instructions skill
  • already held handle chemicals skill
  • already held security requirements of goods transported via pipelines knowledge
The 5 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 arts and humanities 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held 3D printing process optional
  • optional, not held maintenance of printing machines optional
  • optional, not held printing materials optional
  • optional, not held printing on large scale machines optional
  • optional, not held printing techniques optional
08 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
  • optional, not held determine suitability of materials optional
  • optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
09 information skills 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held perform water analysis optional
  • optional, not held keep task records optional
  • optional, not held read assembly drawings optional
10 services 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held rigging terminology optional
  • optional, not held health and safety hazards underground optional
11 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held adjust feeder tubes optional
38 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held adjust feeder tubes optional
  • optional, not held install septic systems optional
  • optional, not held 3D printing process optional
  • optional, not held heat metals optional
  • optional, not held join metals optional
  • optional, not held lay sewer pipe optional
  • optional, not held maintain mechatronic equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain robotic equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintenance of printing machines optional
  • optional, not held metal and metal ore products optional
  • optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
  • optional, not held operate hydraulic pumps optional
  • optional, not held operate printing machinery optional
  • optional, not held operate pumping equipment optional
  • optional, not held operate sumps optional
  • optional, not held perform water analysis optional
  • optional, not held printing materials optional
  • optional, not held printing on large scale machines optional
  • optional, not held rigging terminology optional
  • optional, not held transport pipes optional
  • optional, not held automation technology optional
  • optional, not held cast metal optional
  • optional, not held determine suitability of materials optional
  • optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
  • optional, not held health and safety hazards underground optional
  • optional, not held keep task records optional
  • optional, not held maintenance operations optional
  • optional, not held mechanics optional
  • optional, not held mechatronics optional
  • optional, not held operate automated process control optional
  • optional, not held operate forklift optional
  • optional, not held operate pumps optional
  • optional, not held prepare copper gas-lines pipes optional
  • optional, not held printing techniques optional
  • optional, not held read assembly drawings optional
  • optional, not held repair pipelines optional
  • optional, not held robotics optional
  • optional, not held types of metal optional
4 held skills the pipe welder role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role maintain equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain pipeline coating properties skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor storage vessels used to transport goods via pipeline skill
  • not needed by the target role use personal protection equipment skill
17 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn isometric perspective required
  • still to learn hydraulics required
  • still to learn technical drawings required
  • optional, not held 3D printing process optional
  • optional, not held maintenance of printing machines optional
  • optional, not held metal and metal ore products optional
  • optional, not held printing materials optional
  • optional, not held printing on large scale machines optional
  • optional, not held rigging terminology optional
  • optional, not held automation technology optional
  • optional, not held health and safety hazards underground optional
  • optional, not held maintenance operations optional
  • optional, not held mechanics optional
  • optional, not held mechatronics optional
  • optional, not held printing techniques optional
  • optional, not held robotics optional
  • optional, not held types of metal optional
Index

Other moves recorded from pipeline maintenance worker

Full index of moves from pipeline maintenance worker

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a pipeline maintenance worker become a pipe welder?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A pipeline maintenance worker already covers 39% of what a pipe welder is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 15 of which the pipe welder role treats as required.

What skills does a pipeline maintenance worker need to become a pipe welder?

13 required skills are missing, plus 38 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by constructing. The single most important is clear pipelines.

How hard is the move from pipeline maintenance worker to pipe welder?

Its learning distance is 70.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.