Fitter

GENERAL INFORMATION

1	Name of the Trade	Fitter
2	Entry Qualification	Passed 10th class examination under 10 +2 system of education or with Mathes its equivalent.
3	Duration of Fitter Training	2 Years
4	Duration of Apprenticeship Training	1 Year

Metal fabricators (fitters) are individuals who work with ferrous and non-ferrous metals, including plate and structural steel sections, to produce or repair component parts for bridges, buildings, towers, platforms, steel stairs and hand rails or other assemblies and structures made from steel.
Individuals in this occupational group can be found employed in structural steel and manufacturing plants as well as in heavy machinery and ship building companies. They may be requested to fabricate pressure vessels, structural steel, boilers, tanks, shells, chutes, hoppers, stacks and other heavy steel components on a custom-made basis and often includes the fitting and installation of components for process equipment.
Metal fabricators (fitters) will be further called upon to perform some or all of the following duties: blueprint reading, planning and preparing jobs, mechanical drafting for pattern development, fabricating components, assembling components and installing components.

Metal fabricators must be able to use a variety of hand or power tools and specialized machinery. The occupation requires, above average spatial perception, good co-ordination, mechanical aptitude and manual dexterity, knowledge of related mathematics and workplace regulations. Other essential skills are: the ability to interpret drawings, to develop a logical sequence of operations and to layout and mark steel for cutting, burning, sawing, shearing, punching, rolling, bending and drilling, shaping, forming, straightening; then fitting and assembling these components. Metal fabrication includes welding, bolting, riveting, testing, inspecting, priming, painting, rigging, and handling of subcomponents and the final product.

Related occupations in all parts of Canada include ironworkers, welders and boilermakers. Occupational colleagues to metal fabricators include estimators, structural-steel draughtsman (detailers) and sheet metal workers who prepare shop drawings for structures using structural and plate steel to fabricate integral parts, and welders who, using various welding equipment, weld the assemblies together after fabrication.