IIW Annual Report 2025

PROGRESS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WELDING (IIW) NATIONAL WELDING CAPABILITY (NWC) PROJECT

Chris Smallbone National Welding Capability Project Manager IIW President 2005-2008 and IIW Fellow

INTRODUCTION IIW and many of its members have been very active since the mid-1980s in assisting countries in various regions of the world to improve their quality of life through welding technology. The first IIW Regional Congress was held in 1988 in Australia and the IIW Board of Directors Working Group on Regional Activities and Liaison with Developing Countries (WGRA) was formed in 1993. In January 1994, after a meeting in Vienna between UNIDO officials and Raul Timerman, IIW President, John Hicks, IIW Secretary General and Chris Smallbone, Chairman WGRA, the IIW WeldCare Programme was established. The initial model to assist African countries was proposed to UNIDO in 1994 based on the South African Institute of Welding 1979-1993 world class achievements and was managed by IIW WGRA. From 1994 to 2013, countries were assisted with the holding of International Congresses, technology innovation workshops, promotion of the International Institute of Welding IIW-IAB education, training, qualification and certification programmes, amongst other activities. At the end of 2013, it was decided to expand the IIW WeldCare Programme into the IIW National Welding Capability (NWC) project, aiming to assist a country’s industry, government or IIW Member to achieve the following objectives: • to identify the welding related needs in the country and provide solutions to ensure the country’s future sustainability in relation to these needs; • to implement its own National Welding Capability(NWC) Project as a FLAGSHIP Program; • to identify the country’s existing capability and consolidate the existing welding related ‘building blocks’ in the country to create the basis for an NWC;

• to analyse, and identify the improvements required in the existing welding related NWC ‘building blocks’ as well as what additional NWC ‘building blocks’ are required in the country; and • to create the mechanisms and processes, to establish and maintain the country’s sustainable NWC including the possible establishment

or improvement of a national organisation(s) responsible for leading the promotion of welding and related disciplines.

For more information please visit: https://iiwelding.org/iiw-jointothefuture/nwc-gn/

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