The European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (EWF) is a representative of the manufacturing community in Europe - along with its 31 European members, the National Welding Institutes – working in training and education in the field of welding technologies.
This survey, in the framework of the FSW-Tech Erasmus+ project, is targeted at industrial companies, associations of companies and public bodies that work in the Friction Stir Welding field. Its objective is to understand what are the qualifications in place at the moment, and what are the skills required to employ personnel in this area (from Engineer to Operator). The project main aims are to develop a guideline for three professional profiles in Friction Stir Welding, Operator, Specialist and Engineer, educational material and a guideline for implementation of the curricula at European level.

Attending to the growth in FSW use and the evident need for metal qualified personnel in Europe, VET Providers will have to carry on fostering lifelong learning through FSW continuous training. Hence, Welding education and training for technicians, practitioners and welders must include FSW learning modules in their basic programmes.

This survey takes about 3 minutes to fill and the main aim is to identify personnel skills needs. If you want to know more about the FSW-TECH project, please contact Rita Bola (rgbola@ewf.be).

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* 1. Please identify your company name 

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* 2. Please identify your company's country

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* 3. Please identify your industrial domain/sector

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* 4. Are you aware of any regulation/standards requirements for the training and qualification of the Friction Stir Welding personnel? If so please identify them.

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* 5. What levels of qualification for the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) personnel is your company looking for?

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* 6. What are or what should be the access conditions of the FSW personnel to access training at the operator level?

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* 7. What are or what should be the access conditions of the FSW personnel to access training at the supervisor/coordinator level (specialist)?

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* 8. What are or what should be the access conditions of the FSW personnel to access training at the Engineer level?

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* 9. What time is or should be dedicated to the theoretical training and to the practical training for the qualification of FSW personnel?

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* 10. What variants of the process are mostly used at your company?

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* 11. Which is the main industry this process is directed for?

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* 12. What are the main applications of FSW at your company?

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* 13. Which are the materials mostly used in your company?

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* 14. Are you aware of any regulation/standards/Client Technical Specifications to assess the quality of the friction stir welds, that are currently being used in your company?

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* 15. What are the most urging needs and challenges relating to FSW in your industry/company?

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* 16. What are the most important gaps regarding qualification and skills of the FSW professionals?

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