Fri, 20 March, 2026
In 2009, Paul Tolen, a recent Mechanical Engineering graduate, decided to make a move to the certification department in IPP Group. It was a decision that would shape his career and professional journey for the next 17 years. Paul’s then manager at IPP Group (a stockist, manufacturer, and fabricator of piping products for the oil and gas, petrochemical, and nuclear industries) made it a priority for Paul to gain his CSWIP Visual Welding Inspector certification. Now the company’s Group Technical Director, this is a tradition Paul continues with his new team members providing them with a solid foundation for their work within the organisation.
Acting as the Welding Coordinator, Paul performs the vast majority of technical reviews for the IPP Mardale facility, whether that be loose parts, welding, or full turnkey. For IPP Group, having staff that hold appropriate certifications and/or qualifications provides quality assurance, reduces organisational risk, and offers control and reliability. This in turn means more accurate quoting of costs and lead times, and provides customer satisfaction, leading to more orders in the long run.
That initial venture into certification in 2009 was a bit daunting for Paul. He recalls thinking he would be really out of his depth on the CSWIP Visual Welding Inspector course as he was very new to welding, but found that it was taught at a good entry level and he had such a positive experience that he continued to increase his portfolio over the years with additional certifications, such as the Senior Welding Inspector.
Fast forward to 2020, now with multiple certifications under his belt, Paul decided that his next venture was the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (EWF) and International Institute of Welding (IIW) Welding Coordinator Diploma through to Engineer level. His desire to pursue this qualification was varied, from supporting his development to enabling him to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge to perform the role of a welding engineer.
Ultimately, Paul’s reason for undertaking this journey was not just to prove his competence to his employer and clients, but also to himself. He said, “Clients like to have certified people responsible for critical processes, and so the easiest route to this in my mind was to be able to produce such a certificate rather than go through the process of having my competence assessed in other ways to become an approved vendor on a given project.” Whilst Paul’s original motive for gaining his certifications and qualifications was to receive a certificate proving his competence, he came away from his experience with the realisation that he had not just “gained a piece of paper”, he had new skills, knowledge, and insights, as well as a wider network of people within the industry, all of which have been a vital benefit in building his career.
After dedicating several years to his professional development, as well as becoming a father during this time, Paul has decided to take a break from formal learning for the moment. However, he admits that he is the type of person that talks about taking on too much, but equally always wants to be learning something new, so expects he will look into further learning at a master’s level in the not too distant future. In the meantime, along with his colleagues, his objective is to increase the scope of IPP Group’s work in terms of both size and material grades, along with improving their existing work scope.
So, as someone who has been on an extensive professional journey, Paul would advise anyone starting out their career and/or contemplating gaining similar certifications or qualifications to “take an interest and ask to get involved in the welding operations at your company, and perhaps look at practical welding courses at your local college to try to understand the effects of different parameters and the challenges in welding first hand. The CSWIP Visual Welding Inspector Certification is a great starting point on the inspection side and adds causes as the levels step up. I progressed from the CSWIP Visual Welding Inspector through to the CSWIP Senior Welding Inspector with Radiographic interpretation before taking any diploma modules and would recommend anybody starting from similar experience as me to follow that route. However, your first port of call should be to contact TWI Cert to discuss the certification you are interested in and the knowledge and experience you already have. This means you then know exactly where you stand if you want to present a business case for company sponsorship with more accurate figures and timescales.”
We wish Paul the very best (in what we are sure will be a brief respite in his learning journey) and look forward to supporting him in his next steps.
If you are interested in starting or progressing your professional journey with TWI Cert, head to our website to find out more, or contact us today!