Welder apprenticeships in New Zealand
Welders use handheld or remotely controlled equipment to join, cut and repair metal, in workshops, factories, on building sites, boats or rigs.
The facts
- How long it takes
- 0–3 years
- Pay when starting out
- $50,000 a year
- Most common pay
- $62,000–$97,000 a year
- Experienced
- $119,000 a year
- School qualifications
- NCEA Level 2 may be useful, but is not specifically required.
- Registration
- Not required for this trade.
Those pay ranges are for the job, not for an apprentice. While you are training your legal floor is the training minimum wage of $19.16 an hour if you are 20 or over and your agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of industry training; otherwise it is the adult minimum of $23.95. Plenty of employers pay well above either. How apprentice pay works →
What you need to start
- An apprenticeship in welding or mechanical engineering.
- An entry or intermediate certificate in welding, or the New Zealand Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3).
- A driver licence, and you may need to pass a drug test.
In every trade the order is the same: you find the employer first, then the training is arranged around the job. How to get an apprenticeship →
Employers listed in welder work (2)
New Zealand businesses in this trade that take on apprentices. Name, trade and region only — this site holds no reviews or ratings.
Pay, duration and entry requirements quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator — Welder, read 2026-09-18. Wage floors from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-09-18.