Responsive Engineering celebrates apprentice-built Welding Academy

Located within the historic Armstrong Works in Newcastle, the Academy began as five basic welding bays and has now expanded into a fully equipped facility featuring twelve welding bays, a fabrication area, and a dedicated classroom. Apprentices, guided by their trainers, created the structures themselves using scrap metal, refurbishing older equipment and reinstating disused welding curtains. Their creativity and resourcefulness not only breathed new life into existing materials but also saved the business nearly £45,000.

The Welding Academy is supporting Responsive Engineering’s apprentices, who are gaining hands-on experience that directly prepares them for careers in high‑precision, safety‑critical industries including defence, naval, rail, nuclear, and energy.

One team member benefiting from the academy is Libby, a Level 3 plate welder apprentice from North Tyneside. Never feeling fully comfortable in a traditional classroom, Libby had always enjoyed practical subjects at school, particularly design technology and working with metal. After discovering welding online and visiting an open day at Armstrong Works with her dad, she knew she had found the right path and began her four‑year apprenticeship last September.

Libby, 16, said: “I chose this apprenticeship because it provides so many opportunities for work and career progression, and it’s an area I’m really interested in. Seeing products come together and knowing that’s because of the role I play, makes me really happy.”

There are currently 52 apprentices working across Responsive Engineering and Pearson Engineering, gaining confidence and skills through real, practical work, supported by a facility designed with their needs at its core.

Mike Key, Chief Operating Officer at Pearson Engineering, said: “The Welding Academy reflects the engineering excellence we are committed to here in the North East. By giving apprentices access to facilities of this calibre – created through innovative thinking and the intelligent reuse of materials -we’re not only building capability for today, but investing in the talent of tomorrow. This project demonstrates how we can continue to grow skills, reduce our carbon footprint, and strengthen our manufacturing community, all while supporting the next generation of workers, like Libby, to excel.”