Enginuity champions welding skills at WeldJoinExpo

As part of Welding Week 2026, Enginuity joined industry leaders at The Welding, Joining and Manufacturing Conference and Exhibition (WeldJoinExpo 2026) in Cambridge, to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing UK engineering and manufacturing: how to attract, develop and retain the skilled welders the sector needs for the future.

Alongside the panel discussion, Enginuity and EAL welcomed visitors to a shared exhibition stand throughout the event, showcasing how the organisations are supporting welding skills, qualifications and careers across the UK. The stand also received a visit from Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, who met with exhibitors and learned more about the collaborative work taking place to strengthen the future welding workforce.

Hosted by The Welding Institute (TWI), the panel brought together Ann Watson MBE, CEO of Enginuity, Paul Bailey, CEO of the Engineering Council, and Jason Gregory, Director of Training and Skills at TWI, to explore the role that collaboration, professional standards and better careers awareness can play in closing the welding skills gap.

The discussion reflected the core ambition behind Welding Week, the new national campaign launched by Enginuity and TWI to celebrate welding, challenge outdated perceptions and inspire more people to consider careers in the profession.

Changing perceptions of welding

Speaking on the panel, Ann highlighted the importance of broadening perceptions of who welding is for and ensuring that more people can see themselves in the profession.

She said: "Welding can be for girls, welding can be for ethnic minorities. It can be for anyone who wants to be part of it."

Ann also stressed that addressing the skills challenge will require organisations and sectors to work together rather than compete for talent.

She said: "We need to get the sectors working together instead of competing. That's something I keep stressing to government. We're not going to change anything if you've got renewables competing with defence, advanced manufacturing competing with construction, and everyone trying to draw from the same talent pool."

A shared commitment to the future

Ann explained that Welding Week was created to help showcase the breadth of opportunities available and give greater visibility to the people behind the profession.

She said: "We need to change the perception of the sector. We all know what a brilliant opportunity a career in welding can be. It pays really well, it's interesting work, and at the moment, the world is your oyster.

"That's why, between Enginuity and TWI, we've launched Welding Week. We hope it's going to become an annual event so that every year we can dedicate one week to talking about what welding is, raising the profile of the profession and highlighting the fantastic opportunities it offers.

"We also want to bring in role models to show young people what welders look like beyond the mask. For lots of young people, if you can't see it, you can't be it. It's about pulling back those layers and showing what a career in welding really looks like."

The conversations taking place on the exhibition stand and during the panel reflected the shared ambition behind Welding Week – bringing together employers, educators, awarding organisations and professional bodies to inspire the next generation of welders and strengthen the UK's future workforce.

With Welding Week now underway, Enginuity and TWI hope the campaign will continue to raise awareness of the opportunities within welding, celebrate the people already working in the profession and encourage more young people to consider a career in this highly skilled and rewarding field.

Follow Enginuity on LinkedIn to find out more about Welding Week