Is it for me?

This course caters to individuals with little or no previous experience of manual welding processes, but wishing to learn them. This includes maintenance staff who are required to install and repair plastic fabrications such as chemical storage tanks, fume cupboards and extraction systems. This course also caters for experienced fabrication welders who are looking to enhance their knowledge further and gain a recognised qualification in manual plastic welding techniques. 

What will I learn?

You will gain a practical understanding of hot gas and extrusion welding, including hands-on experience on a range of equipment manufactured by the leading equipment suppliers. Our training courses are conducted by ex-plastic fabricators, so they have the experience and knowledge to support with product fabrication, design and optomisation. As well as this, we will cover the following:

  • An introduction to common thermoplastics (PVC, PP, PE, PVDF)
  • Common processing techniques
  • Weld symbols
  • Joint preparation (including hand tools)
  • Equipment and nozzles
  • Defects and how to avoid them
  • Process control
  • Inspection and testing
  • Health and safety
  • Introduction to CSWIP certification 

What will I leave with?

  • An understanding of practical welding, including equipment preparation and maintenance schedules 
  • An ability to identify plastics materials and the differences when welding them 
  • An ability to implement procedure control and safe operation, including standard and compliance 
  • An understanding weld properties, including testing of welds
  • An ability to identify faults/defects and how to avoid them


Course Duration:

Course duration varies depending on the clients specific requirements and the experience of the candidates taking the course. For further information, please contact PWT@TWI.co.uk, we would be happy to tailor a course that suits your specific needs.

What else should I know?

An examination leading to CSWIP certification can be provided following this course if required. Tailored courses can be designed to meet the needs of individual companies, and delivered in-house or at our training centre in Middlesbrough, or at clients premises worldwide. Please see case studies below for examples of our bespoke training services.


Welding Guides:


Certification in Plastics Welding
TWI offers certification aligned to the British and European standard for approved testing of plastics welders (BS EN 13067) as well as entry-level certification, via the internationally recognised CSWIP Scheme for Personnel (CSWIP). Available categories of certification can be found in the CSWIP Plastic Welder Scheme document, CSWIP-PW-6-96.

To discuss your requirements or to book a course please telephone Scott Andrews on 01223 899569 or Amy Kearney on 01642 216397 or you can email PWT@TWI.co.uk 

Part of:

Plastics Welder Training and Qualification

View Programme Overview