- Engineering Design and Draughtsperson
- Technical Support Technician
- Toolmaker and Tool Die Maintenance
- Machining Technician
- General Welder
- Metal Fabricator
- Engineering Fitter
- Metrology Technician
- Mechatronics Maintenance Technician
- Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician
- Science Industry Maintenance Technician
- Engineering Manufacturing Technician
- Lead Engineering Maintenance Technician
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Engineering design and draughtspersons produce designs and drawings for structures, piping, electrical systems, control and instrumentation systems and mechanical components used in industrial and commercial construction. Typically, jobholders work in a wide range of industries of national importance including power and water infrastructure, petrochemical, oil and gas, nuclear, food and drink processing.
Jobholders are based at office locations within project design teams and occasionally work at on-site locations. They are required to understand on-site hazards and health and safety requirements.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Technical Support Technicians, work as part of a team to provide technical support and expertise for all areas of the Engineering and Manufacturing function including communications software, test, analysis tools, measurement, off line programming, process control, performance and continuous improvement solutions, capacity planning, production scheduling/planning, product technical applications and capability, technical sales and marketing support, product development and innovation, engineering drawing, purchasing and/or supply of goods or services for engineering activities, quality control, inspection and e-commerce technologies as required.
The requirements are designed to offer stretch and progression. They will be able to work with minimum supervision, taking responsibility for the quality, accuracy and timely delivery of the work they undertake. They will be proactive in finding solutions to problems and identifying areas for improving the business.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Toolmakers and Tool & Die Maintenance Technicians are predominantly involved in the highly skilled, complex and specialist detailed work of manufacturing and maintaining the engineering tooling used to produce components, products and assemblies. These products, assemblies and systems affect all of our daily lives, whether it be for travel such as (cars, planes, boats and rail) energy, defence, food, clothing, packaging and health including medical equipment, devices and implants such as joint replacements.
This requires the application of a broad range of activities including the interpretation of Engineering drawings and technical instructions and the use of hand, machine and automated computer controlled machine tools and measuring equipment.They will be proactive in finding solutions to problems and identifying ways to improve the business.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Machinists in the Advanced Manufacturing Engineering sector are predominantly involved in highly skilled, complex and precision work, machining components from specialist materials using conventional and/or CNC machine tools such as centre lathes, vertical and horizontal milling machines, horizontal and cylindrical grinding machines, electro discharge machines, single and multi- axis CNC machine tools centres.
They will be expected to be able set up, operate and adjust/edit equipment settings as applicable to the machine tool being used. When using CNC equipment they will be expected to be able to produce, prove and/or edit programmes.
During and on completion of the machining operations they will be expected to measure and check the components being produced and make adjustments to the equipment/programme to ensure components meet the required specification.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Welding is a way to make high strength joints between two or more parts. General Welders use high electrical energy to form an arc. Manual dexterity is essential in controlling the arc, which is used to melt metals, allowing them to fuse together to form a structurally sound weld.
Welding is used extensively and in almost every sector of industry. There is a high demand for skilled General Welders in areas such as: automotive, marine, transport, general fabrication, construction and many more. General Welders produce items like components for cars; ships; rail vehicles; simple metallic containers; and steelwork for bridges, buildings and gantries. Welding is a safety critical occupation and every welder takes responsibility for the quality and accuracy of their work. General Welders are required to produce joints that satisfy basic quality standards in order to ensure that the finished products function correctly, contributing to the safety of all and the global quality of life.
Work includes manufacturing bridges, oil rigs, ships, petro-chemical installations, cranes, platforms, aircraft, automotive and machinery parts, sheet metal enclosures, equipment supports, and anything that can be fabricated out of metal. Fabricators can work alone or in teams, in factories or on operational sites.Fabricators use a large range of metals including steel, aluminium and titanium at a range of thicknesses from 0.5mm up to over 20mm.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with planners, supervisors, inspectors, designers, welders, pipefitters, fitters, machinists, riggers, steel erectors, stores personnel, painters and many others involved in manufacturing, production, maintenance and repair.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for the quality and accuracy of their own work whilst ensuring it conforms to a relevant specification such as an engineering drawing or an international standard.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Fitters may typically have a mechanical, electrical, electronic, control systems, pipe fitting or instrumentation bias. To produce or re-furbish the components fitters will interpret drawings/specifications and plan their work, for example ensuring they have the right tools, equipment and resources to complete the task to the required specification. Fitters are required to check their work against quality standards and make adjustments as required based on their knowledge. They may be based in a workshop or clients premises – this may include hazardous environments.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation typically interacts with line managers/supervisors; depending on the size of the employer and nature of the work they may work as part of a team of fitters or independently. They may interact with personnel in other functions for example installation and maintenance engineers, health & safety and quality assurance personnel, as well as internal or external customers.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Metrology Technicians who understand core measurement principles and practices and whose role is to interpret and apply these whilst carrying out measurement activities in whichever industry they work. They are also able to identify measurement needs and plan and perform measurement tasks using tools, equipment, instrumentation and software programs. Metrology is vital to improve the quality and throughput of goods and utilities, which in turn is essential to increasing productivity and customer satisfaction.
Metrology Technicians must comply with statutory regulations and health and safety requirements. They will be able to carry out work with minimal supervision, take responsibility for the quality and accuracy of the work they undertake, and will have a high level of attention to detail. The successful apprentice will become a valuable measurement specialist, within their organisation, significantly contributing to the future of the Metrology industry and the UK economy.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Mechatronics Maintenance Technicians ensure that plant and equipment perform to the required standard to facilitate production targets regarding Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost within High Value Manufacturing environments.
Typically the work would cover a broad range of activities include installation, testing, fault finding and the on-going planned maintenance of complex automated equipment. This requires the application of a complex blend of skills, knowledge and occupational behaviours across the electrical, electronic, mechanical, fluid power and control systems disciplines.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Dependent upon the sector that they are employed in there may be subtle differences in terms of the composition and application of the plant and equipment. However, the fundamental principles of operation will be the same regardless of the engineering sector.
To support the business and operational requirements of modern integrated engineered production plant and services, Electrical, Mechanical, Control and Instrumentation, Process Control and Electromechanical Technicians will need to apply a range of conventional skills and knowledge to undertake engineering activities such as, diagnostics, repair, installation and adopting preventative maintenance techniques to create efficient manufacturing and servicing workplaces.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
As well as core engineering skills, maintenance technicians need to understand and follow working practices that are specific to the safety critical science industry. They may work in varied conditions including using specialist safety equipment, shift work and on sites running 365 day operations. They will be expected to work both individually and as part of a maintenance team. They will be able to work with minimum supervision, taking responsibility for the quality and accuracy of the work they undertake. They may be part of in house maintenance teams or engineering maintenance contractor teams who work for different companies across the science industry.
Science industry maintenance technicians work in a wide range of companies, including, but not exclusively, chemical, petrochemical, polymer, primary and secondary pharmaceutical, biotechnology, formulated products, engineering and nuclear manufacturing.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
Engineering Manufacturing Technicians can be office based, manufacturing/plant based or more commonly combination of both, working with engineering and/or manufacturing teams at an operational level such as with production team leaders and/or management level working with specialist quality or design engineers. As well as liaising with internal colleagues, they may also be responsible for working directly with customers and/or suppliers or with representatives from appropriate regulatory bodies.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for the quality, safety and delivery of the manufactured product or service, ensuring it is delivered to the customer on time at the agreed cost. They will typically report to an engineering or manufacturing manager as part of a cross functional team, the size of this team and responsibilities will vary depending on the size of the employer. They have the autonomy to use judgement when undertaking the occupational duties and applying their technical knowledge, skills and behaviours in a wide range of contexts and environments.
What’s Involved In This Apprenticeship?
A candidate may specialise in areas such as mechanical, electronic, or electrical engineering. In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with operators and maintenance teams. They also interact with shift leaders, senior engineers, senior test engineers, design engineers, quality engineers. They may work with procedure writers, procurement managers and resource allocation colleagues.
Combining the HNC Level 4 mandatory qualification with a range of evidence from the workplace, this is the idea progression for those in a more senior role, that have already achieved a Level 3 apprenticeship.