Nepali construction trades, 3G/6G welders, pipe fitters, structural steel

3G and 6G welder certification is the gate that decides whether a Nepali welder file lands at a Croatian shipyard or returns for re-testing. 3G is the AWS/ASME positional welding code for vertical butt joints on plate; 6G is the equivalent for fixed-position pipe welding at 45 degrees. Both are EN ISO 9606-1 equivalents in the European jurisdiction. This guide is the operator-side view of the Nepali welder corridor, the Patan testing centre relationship, the PQR-matched coupon test, the MAG/MIG/TIG process specifications, and the corridor calendar against welder fresh-sourcing vs. standby roster.

For the broader construction-corridor view, see Nepali construction crew mobilisation. For the corridor mechanics, see How to hire Nepali workers for Croatia, complete 2026 guide.

The certification standards, what 3G and 6G actually mean

The welder positional codes that an EU buyer reads on a Nepali welder CV map across three certification frameworks:

AWS D1.1 (American Welding Society Structural Welding Code, Steel) uses the positional codes 1G (flat), 2G (horizontal), 3G (vertical), 4G (overhead) for plate welding. For pipe welding, 1G (rolled horizontal), 2G (vertical pipe with horizontal weld), 5G (horizontal pipe with vertical weld), 6G (fixed at 45 degrees). A welder certified to 6G on pipe is qualified by inference for the positions below it; this is the certification cascade EU buyers most often verify on.

ASME Section IX (Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code) uses the same positional codes for the Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) and Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) framework. The PQR is the artefact the employer-side QA department writes against the production weld, same base metal, same filler, same position, same backing or no backing.

EN ISO 9606-1 is the European equivalent for welder qualification on plate and pipe, used by Croatian and broader EU jurisdictions. PA (flat), PB (horizontal), PC (vertical), PD (overhead), PE (overhead), PF (vertical-up), PG (vertical-down) for plate; H-L045 for pipe at 45 degrees fixed (the EN equivalent of 6G).

For the corridor, the operator detail that matters: the certificate the Nepali welder holds is the certification the trade test re-validates against the receiving employer's PQR. AWS/ASME and EN ISO 9606-1 are mutually recognised in most EU jurisdictions but the trade test re-runs the coupon to the specific PQR regardless, there is no waiver from the trade test on the basis of an existing certificate.

The process specifications, MAG, MIG, TIG and where each lands

The welder pool in Nepal divides by welding process across three primary specifications:

MAG (Metal Active Gas) welding. GMAW with active-gas shielding (typically CO₂ or Ar-CO₂ mix). The most common process on structural steel in the Adriatic shipyards and the EU construction belt. The deepest Nepali pool, most welders carry documented MAG experience from the Gulf and Indian project history.

MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding. GMAW with inert-gas shielding (Ar or Ar-He mix). Common on aluminium and on specialty alloys. A narrower pool than MAG; the Nepali welder with documented MIG-on-aluminium experience typically comes from the UAE or Qatar yacht-building corridor.

TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding. GTAW with Ar shielding and separate filler rod. The high-precision process used for stainless and exotic alloys, root-pass on critical piping, and aerospace work. The narrowest pool but the highest skill ceiling, TIG welders at 6G on stainless are the corridor specialists Werklist holds standby relationships against.

The Werklist trade-test infrastructure at the Patan testing centre runs coupon tests against all three processes; the receiving employer's PQR specifies which process applies. A welder certified 6G TIG-root + MAG-fill-and-cap on carbon steel is a different file from a welder certified 6G MAG-all-pass on the same coupon, and the destination employer's QA department reads the difference.

The Patan testing centre, what the trade test looks like

The Werklist trade-test relationship for welders 3G and 6G in Kathmandu runs through the CTEVT-aligned Patan testing centre and the NSTB-certified secondary centres in the Kathmandu Valley. The test format:

Practical coupon test. The candidate welds a coupon to the receiving employer's PQR. Same base metal (specified by grade, SA 516 Gr 70, A36, S355 etc.), same filler (E7018, ER70S-6 etc.), same position (3G plate or 6G pipe), same backing or no backing as the production weld. Werklist Kathmandu coordinates with the employer's QA department on the PQR sheet before the test fires.

Visual inspection. The coupon is visually inspected against the AWS D1.1 or EN ISO 5817 acceptance criteria (whichever the destination jurisdiction applies). Surface porosity, undercut, surface cracks, weld profile against the welder qualification range, all read on the visual.

Radiographic test (X-ray). The coupon is X-rayed and the radiograph reviewed against AWS D1.1 Section 6 or EN ISO 17636-1 acceptance criteria. The X-ray report and the radiograph file travel with the candidate file to the employer for sign-off. Pass-or-fail on the X-ray is the decisive gate, visual-pass with X-ray-fail is the most common second-try scenario.

PQR-matched documentation pack. The complete candidate file at sign-off carries the welder qualification certificate (3G or 6G as the test passed), the X-ray report, the radiograph file, the coupon photograph, and the witnessed-by record. This is the artefact the destination employer's QA department signs against before the welder boards the plane.

The trade-test fee bills at-cost per candidate, Werklist's relationship with the Patan testing centre runs at a transparent fee against the X-ray and coupon-inspection cost, with no recruitment-fee expansion if the test re-fires. The candidate either passes the next coupon or is replaced inside the same corridor fee.

The fresh-sourcing corridor vs. the standby roster

The welder corridor splits in two against the employer's project programme:

Fresh-sourcing corridor. Demand letter signed → DOFE Job Order verified → candidate shortlist drawn from the Werklist Kathmandu pool → trade test fired against the employer's PQR → coupon X-ray reviewed → file sign-off → mobilisation. Calendar: 110-120 days from signed demand letter to first weld on site. This is the corridor a one-off project mobilisation runs.

Standby roster corridor. Werklist holds standing rosters of pre-tested 3G and 6G welders against the major destination employers' PQRs. The roster is refreshed quarterly with new test fires at the Patan centre. For an anchor employer with annual welder demand, the standby roster collapses the trade-test and DOFE-Job-Order steps and lands the mobilisation in 50-70 days. The standby roster works only for the named PQR, a roster welder qualified to E7018 SMAW will not run a corridor for an ER70S-6 MAG project without re-testing.

Three planning notes for project managers. First, send the PQR with the demand letter, not at Day 60 when someone remembers to attach it. The shortlist filters on it from Day 14. Second, name the welding process in the demand letter, MAG, MIG, TIG, SMAW, the trade test fires against it. Third, specify the position, 3G plate, 6G pipe, or a multi-position combination. A demand letter that says "welders" returns the corridor to the operator's-side specification stage and adds 5-10 days.

What Nepali welders bring to the European construction site

Three operator-observed traits decide whether the welder corridor returns the per-head cost. First, deep Gulf-corridor welder experience, Saudi mega-project welder rotations, Qatari yacht-building piping work, UAE shipyard fabrication. The documented chain experience is well-attested and verifiable. Second, X-ray pass rate at the Patan testing centre, Werklist's tracked pass rate on first-coupon X-ray for 3G welders runs higher than the Nepali corridor average, against the standardised PQR-matched test setup. The 6G pipe-welder pool is narrower but the pass rate on the second coupon (after coaching from the test-centre supervisor on root-pass and fill-pass technique) is high enough that the trade-test re-fire rate stays inside the corridor fee. Third, accommodation and project-site discipline, Nepali welders shortlisted into the EU corridor expect NN 133/20-compliant accommodation, expect site-standard PPE, and expect hot-work-permit discipline. The destination-side absconding rate on the welder lane runs at the low end of the cross-border range when the accommodation is in order.

Common objections, answered straight

"What does a failed X-ray cost us?" The Werklist trade-test fee on the failed candidate bills at-cost and is not refunded; the replacement candidate runs through the same test under the same recruitment fee. No corridor-fee expansion. The cost of a failed X-ray is the testing fee for that candidate, not the corridor fee.

"Can we run a winter shipyard mobilisation in 8 weeks?" Honest answer: 8 weeks for welders 3G/6G is feasible only against a Werklist standby roster matched to your specific PQR. Fresh-sourcing for welders runs 110-120 days. The Patan trade test alone is 5-10 days; the DOFE Job Order is 14-28 days; the visa-D New Delhi window is 15-25 days. The scoping call tells you which lane the brief falls into.

"What if our PQR changes mid-project?" A new PQR requires a re-test against the new coupon. Welders previously tested on the old PQR re-fire at the Patan centre against the new specification; the re-test fee bills at-cost. The corridor does not re-mobilise, the workers remain on the destination site under the existing dozvola, and the re-test runs against new coupons sent to Kathmandu.

The Kathmandu branch, where the welder file actually moves

Werklist's Kathmandu branch holds the DOFE recruitment licence under the Foreign Employment Act 2064, the Patan testing centre relationship for 3G and 6G welder trade tests with X-ray review, the SaMi/HELVETAS pre-departure orientation slot with the construction HSE module covering hot-work permits and scaffold safety, and the Maharajgunj walking-relationship. The branch lead, the photographed team, and the licence number with renewal date live on the Kathmandu branch page.

If you are scoping a welder-3G or welder-6G corridor and want the Patan test calendar mapped against your PQR and target first-weld date, send a brief, process specification (MAG, MIG, TIG, SMAW), position (3G plate, 6G pipe), base metal grade, filler specification, project site, target start date, PQR sheet if available. We reply within one business day with the corridor fit and the timeline, whether you sign with us or not.