Non Destructive Testing involves using different techniques to monitor the integrity of a structure or joins without having to compromise the structure itself. NDT is a highly skilled career choice that requires lots of calculations and a good understanding of maths. As a result technicians are sought after and can be highly paid. You will most likely be employed during operations and maintenance.
Courses and Training
No prior experience is necessary to train as an NDT technician although they do recommend having a basic understanding of mathematics. Specific job roles however may require different levels of experience. In addition, as the role of an NDT technician is mostly carried out onsite, if you are hoping to work offshore then you will be required to complete the basic wind training which must be approved by RenewableUK (RUK) and / or the Global Wind Organisation (GWO). The basic training is made up of:
- Sea Survival
- Fire Awareness
- First Aid
- Working at Height
- Manual Handling
It would be worthwhile looking at a number of job roles to see what the common requirements are. There may be additional specific training as we discussed earlier. So it would be advisable to reach out to some companies and specific job roles to work out what training and qualifications you might need.
There are different types of NDT training, so once you have identified a number of job roles and looked at the requirements you can match them up to the training available which includes:
- Dye Penetrant L2
- Eddy Current L1
- Eddy Current L2
- Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI) L2
- PCN L2 Plate Testing
- PCN L2 Ultrasonic Testing (UT) 3.1, 3.2
- PCN L2 Ultrasonic Testing (UT) 3.8, 3.9
- Radiographic Interpretation L2
