Michael Calder: Aiming for his IWE
Hailing from Calgary in Alberta, Canada,
Quality Assurance Advisor Michael Calder
has worked for the last 12 years with an
international oil and gas company. Having
previously worked for an engineering company
as well as having an extensive background
in manufacturing, Michael is currently employed
on a pipeline construction project which
requires him to use his expertise in welding,
testing and other related activities.
Having achieved his Engineering Technologist
qualification in Alberta back in 1990, Michael
is currently working towards his International
Welding Engineer (IWE) status, for which
he first needed to gain his Incorporated
Engineer (IEng) certification.
Although Michael paid for his own training,
taking annual leave to do so, he hopes that
his employer will recognise the benefits
of his qualification. He also noted that
he wanted to attain an internationally-recognised
certification and, having trained at TWI
in the past, was more than happy to return.
By attaining an internationally-recognised
qualification, Michael believes that he
can help protect his employment prospects
for the future while also saying that it
is pleasing to see TWI making more in-roads
into Canada too.
Staying on site at TWI’s facilities
near Cambridge not only kept his costs down,
but also gave Michael time to meet his fellow
students, share ideas and socialise. Overall,
Michael said that it “wasn’t
a difficult choice to pick TWI” for
his training.
With regard to the course itself, Michael
noted that he enjoyed the nature of the
FAA2 intermediate fabrication and application
course, adding that it provided a good summation
of the content involved. He was also quick
to offer praise for the lecturers, saying
they were “well versed” in their
subjects and showed a high level of experience,
maturity and academic ability. Michael went
on to note how the lecturers could draw
on the wider expertise at TWI if there was
anything they needed clarification over.
While Michael would recommend TWI to others,
saying that “TWI is at the top”
of the profession, he hopes to complete
his final three modules soon and gain his
IWE qualification.
Find out more about the EWF/IIW Diploma