A Derry firm is helping to produce the next generation of welders.
MIWI (Mechanical Inspection Welding Institute) was established in Springtown industrial estate by local seasoned welders Daryl McCarron and Dean Carlyle in late 2023 as they had established there was a gap in the training market for local welders.
Dean and Daryl met each other when they left school and entered the welding trade in 2007. They worked well with one another and had discussed for a number of years the idea of starting their own business.
As they continued to earn their stripes in the industry, they became aware there was the need for a state-of-the-art training facility in the north-west, and set out to put one in place.
Daryl explained: “We were always talking about setting up an institute to fill a gap in this pipefitting/welding mechanical trade; there are not enough men in the industry in Ireland.
“We were in Cork and there were 60 or 70 people brought in from abroad for the job. So Irish companies are sourcing people from abroad as there aren’t enough here to do the jobs that are required.
“We kind of knew this already, but we saw it for ourselves and know there are a lot of people out there that are looking to get into the trade.”

MIWI Services is leading the way in producing the next generation of welders in the North West. From left: Gareth Quigg, Oisin Doherty, Conor McIntyre, Brian O'Neill, Craig Thompson, Thomas McCallion. PHOTO: Deirdre Heaney, nwpresspics.

What sets MIWI apart from other institutes though, is the variety of services they provide, as well as the post-training mentorship they are able to provide by linking trainees with well established local companies.
Daryl and Dean have made it very clear that they are a local company who are keen on opening up opportunities for local people, as well as those from further afield.
Daryl said of the welding industry that sometimes it can be difficult to get into the industry.
He said: “Realistically the standard path is to get into welding after school, do the training and apprenticeship and work your way up from ages 16/17, you’re usual grand to get a job that way, but say you made some decisions when you were younger that led you elsewhere, and at 23 you decide to get into welding, it can be very very difficult.
“We wanted to set it up so that all skill levels could come here and gain competency in welding.”
Dean added: “That is it in a nutshell, if you don’t come in at 16/17 into one of the local companies, and there aren’t many of them so it can be limited.
“If you don’t get in there and serve your time, it can be very difficult to get into the trade. Whereas the facility that me and Daryl have here, we can provide you with the right training, which is a massive stepping stone into the trade.”
MIWI provides a hub for a multitude of services, which are all BS EN ISO 9606 compliant, in the purpose-designed building. The welding institute workshop can be found on the ground floor, which has ample space to train people the skills for ‘all the more common welding types’ including TIG, MIG/MAG and MMA welds.
This institute is suitable for training up to eight people at once, whether entirely new to the world of welding and potentially taking on welding as a hobby, or looking to upskill to another welding type. MIWI has the room to train more but have limited it to eight, to ensure they are able to provide tailored training to each individual.
On the first floor is the main hub of the institute, where there is a training room wherein the with a state of the art semi-cleanroom room where orbital/pipework welding lessons are provided, a highly specialised form of welding that requires many years of welding practice to be proficient enough to learn the skill.
Dean spoke about the comprehensive training provided, stating: “We go through everything, there’s training on the machine, gas, all the steps, butt welds, fillet welds, then you’re coming in and learning your abrasive wheels, how to use a grinder, how to cut, clean, bevel work. We go through everything so everyone is all fully trained up.”
The mechanical arm of the institute is facilitated with the assistance of Craig Thompson, who is a fully qualified pipefitter and welder by trade.
During his career Craig has specialised in all factors of his trade; from semiconductor, bio-pharma, food and beverage to data centres.
Craig, via A. Willi LTD, has been providing orbital welding training courses in conjunction with MIWI in their Springtown site. His role is to provide and maintain specialised training in high purity pipefitting and orbital welding for which he undertook an orbital welding instructor course in Germany with Orbitalum.
A. Willi LTD has training facilities worldwide in places such as Dublin, Germany, and India; all of which Craig has been involved in.
Craig’s knowledge and experience has been instrumental in providing this highly specialised training service, which is very much required as there is an extremely high demand for orbital welders worldwide, not just in Ireland. Orbital welding opportunities are available worldwide, and Craig has lived experience of this having worked on orbital sites across India, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK.

As well as the practical training, Dean and Daryl also provide comprehensive theoretical training on site, through the use of a conference/training room where they are able to entrench the methodology of their training.
The fact that MIWI do provide such a variety of training courses ensures that any students who use their training can always come back to them to learn more about their trade and top/refresh their knowledge.
Dean said: “Anybody could walk through that door and receive training from us. It could be for a hobby, just learning how to weld. You could come here to change your career.
“If you’ve zero knowledge of welding and you want to come in here and leave with a job, you’re looking at a minimum of ten weeks. You’d have to do a beginner course, then go on and do an intense course. And we have no doubt that after the 10/12 weeks of training that you are going to have the right tools to get into the trade.
“Now we’re not saying you’re going to be an expert, but it is a massive opportunity to provide help to local people to learn the skills to get into local jobs.”

Further to training provision, Dean and Daryl also provide inspection services, as they are known locally for the standard of their work, which allows them in turn to inspect the work of others.
Daryl had also been a supervisor and welding inspector within a local company, prior to starting up MIWI with Dean who also has plenty of experience under his belt. They do also continue to work in the industry, and practise what they preach, having recently completed an orbital job at Antrim hospital, subbing for AE Global, a Derry engineering and construction firm, where they continue to develop a relationship with them.
Through the connections they have developed while working in the industry themselves, they are able to provide a route for trainees at MIWI to get jobs in the industry, having already trained 19 people and counting.
Dean spoke highly of AE Global as well as other local firms who have been instrumental in the development of the people they have provided training to.
He said: “With the help of other locals such as Conor Gallagher at Allpipe/AE Global who has been a great credit; he has helped us change a lot of people’s lives by taking people in after we train them up here.”
For further information about Daryl and Dean, the courses provided at MIWI or even to gain some basic knowledge on welding, you can visit the website: www.miwiweldinginstitute.com/