Overview of apprenticeship
Apprentices must have been working previously at a Technician level and have the ability through their experience to complete projects or lead a team, working at a Senior technician level. Apprentices maybe working in a range of engineering and manufacturing sectors and have responsibility for the quality, safety and delivery for the manufactured product or service for the organisation.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide specialist technical support for engineers, so that organisations can develop, produce or test new/existing products, processes, or procedures to meet a customer specification in terms of quality, cost and delivery, as efficiently and effectively as possible. Engineering Manufacturing Technicians gather information and data from a range of sources and analyse the information/data. They will make decisions, solve problems and produce and/or update technical documentation, reports or specifications covering areas such as quality, reliability, production schedules/targets, costing or other technical documentation that informs others, either internally or externally what needs to be done such as how a product must be designed, manufactured, tested, modified, maintained, stored, transported, commissioned or decommissioned.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with their line manager to confirm departmental programmes of work and to agree individual responsibilities. This in turn will align to an overarching organisational resource and delivery plan. 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. Typically this would involve interaction with auditors to demonstrate compliance to specific organisational or regulatory requirements (such as Civil Aviation Authority).Their time will be spent between working in an office environment and working in the manufacturing environment or visiting customers or suppliers as and when required.
Delivery Plan and Assessment
Learners will attend West Suffolk College one day a week for taught sessions, excluding half terms and holidays. In total, learners have to spend 20% of their time on programme completing Off-The-Job training, this includes their day release, and any shadow shifts. Apprentices will be supported by 1:1 meetings in the workplace by their dedicated Programme Tutor. Additional learning resources and information will be made available online to ensure a fully blended learning experience.
Learners will be required to complete an End Point Assessment at the end of their learning.
Where will this course take me?
As well as ensuring full competence as an Engineering Manufacturing Technician, this apprenticeship provides a foundation for potential progression into a team leader or supervisory role within the company, a Degree Apprenticeship in Engineering, or Apprenticeship in Management.
Down to business, what can I do and what can I earn?
Your wage is decided by your employer however must meet the National Minimum Wage regulations https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates.
Entry requirements
Whilst any entry requirements will be a matter for individual employers, typically an apprentice might be expected to have already achieved 5 GCSEs including Maths and English, Grade C or above or 4/5 (new grading). Some employers will accept other relevant qualifications and experience, including a relevant Level 2 qualification. To enroll onto this Apprenticeship you need to have GCSE Grade 4 in maths and English plus related Level 3 BTEC at DDM Level. Apprentices also require to be in a suitable job role, and all applicants will be interviewed by a Programme Tutor.
Apprentices without English and Maths at Level 2 must achieve these prior to taking their End Point Assessment.
Qualifications
On completion of the apprenticeship, you will have achieved:
- Full Engineering Manufacturing Technician Level 4 Standard.
-
Engineering HNC Level 4 - Skills for Success - This module is designed by West Suffolk College to ensure you have all the personal skills and behaviours to succeed in the workplace.
- Any required Functional Skills in English or Maths.
How is this funded?
Learners
Apprentices are not required to contribute financially towards Apprenticeship training.
Employers
If you are an employer with an annual wage bill of £3 million or more, you will pay into an apprenticeship levy. This levy is then used to pay for the training element of the apprenticeship course. The total figure for the Apprenticeship is negotiated before enrolment and once confirmed will be taken in monthly payments from your account directly to us or paid to us via invoice should additional fees be required.
If you are an employer with an annual wage bill of under £3 million, the Government will fund 95% of the training fee meaning you will be required to contribute 5%. You may be required to contribute additional fees which we will invoice the company for. The additional fees will be made known and negotiated prior to the Apprentice enrolment.
There are additional incentives available if you are a small employer (under 50) and if you train/recruit a 16-18 year old or 19-24 year old with an Education Health and Care Plan.
Contact us on 01284 716235 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further details of costs and how Apprenticeships are funded.
Try out our apprenticeship levy calculator here
I'm interested. What should I do now?
You apply for an Apprenticeship in the same way you would apply for a job: find an apprenticeship vacancy, send in your CV or complete an application. We can help you with applications and give you interview advice. Please view the following page on our website to see our latest Apprenticeship vacancies.
Apprenticeship Vacancies: https://www.wsc.ac.uk/find-a-course/apprenticeships/vacancies
Alternatively, you can look on the GOV.UK website to see what other Apprenticeships vacancies may be available: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch
Employers - Please contact us to speak with a member of the Apprenticeship Team for more information and to organise a face to face visit.
Days & times
Please contact us for dates and further information