Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeship

What is an Apprenticeship?
When training for an Apprenticeship in engineering you will spend 4 days a week 'on the job' training with an engineering company as an employee of that company. The fifth day will be spent studying at a local College to gain knowledge relevant to your job. The company will give you a 'mentor' ,an experienced Technician or Craftsperson who will help you settle in, show you the ropes, train you and deal with any problems you might have. Time spent with the company will provide vital work experience which otherwise could not be gained by continuing in full time education.

At the start of the programme there is a foundation period were you will be enrolled on a BTEC or City & Guilds course at a local College, which you will attend once a week. The subjects you study will depend on what the college offers and the needs of your employer, as well as what you want to do. We will help you do your job better and enhance your employability.

When you start an engineering apprenticeship you get a firm commitment from your employer to give you high quality training and development.

Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeship
Mechanical engineers design, develop, install, operate and maintain just about anything that has moveable parts, ranging from heart valves and artificial limbs to clockwork radios, television cameras, dentist drills, racing cars or jet engines. Most industry relies on Mechanical systems and Mechanical engineering is the most diverse of all different engineering disciplines. There are career opportunities in every sector from space travel to medical science and Grand Prix racing to TV broadcasting.

As a Mechanical Engineering Apprentice, your daily work activities would include reading engineering drawings, using machine and hand tools to produce component parts, installing or maintaining mechanical equipment or machinery, fault finding and carrying out repairs on mechanical machinery, equipment and inspecting finished work for accuracy.

Prospects You have the opportunity to become a Mechanical Craftsperson, Technician, Team Leader or work with computers in design and manufacturing.

You may also work in the Maintenance department of a Manufacturing company or travel to different factories as a Service Engineer. Engineers can apply their knowledge in design, research, development and management.

Wage Expectations
You get a wage from day one of the apprenticeship. Rates of pay very much depend on the company you will be working for. However companies currently on the programme have a starting wage of anything between £85 and £220 per week. This increases substantially each year of the apprenticeship.

Qualifications Achieved
You will be required to attend College one day a week and achieve a range of nationally recognised qualifications:

• NVQ Level 3 and possibly Level 4 awards
• Keyskills and/or Essential Skills Level 2 or 3
• Appropriate BTEC/City & Guilds Certificate

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
People can enter ApprenticeshipsNI funded apprenticeships on progression from Jobskills, Training for Success, or as direct entrants.

An unemployed person
To be eligible to enter ApprenticeshipsNI funded Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship provision, an unemployed person must:

• have attained the minimum school leaving age. However, a 16 year old who is entitled to leave school after the statutory leaving date of 30th June and a 17 year old who leaves school/FE College during the month of June will not be permitted to enter ApprenticeshipsNI until the first Monday of the following September. However, a School Leaver/FE College Leaver who is 17 years old and who leaves before 1st June can be admitted to ApprenticeshipsNI at any time after leaving school/FE College;
• be about to take up permanent remunerative employment with a Northern Ireland-based company (see 2.4), and be contracted to work a minimum of 21 hours per week (including day release/off-the-job training) with one employer;
• have the potential to successfully complete all the requirements of the appropriate Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship Framework;
• meet any health requirements (e.g. colour vision) specific to the occupation of their choice;
• have achieved any necessary entry academic qualifications (e.g. GCSE) determined by the relevant sector for the Apprenticeship and approved by the Department; and
• pass any entry tests specified by the relevant sector/employer and approved by the Department.

An existing employee
To be eligible to enter ApprenticeshipsNI funded Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship provision, an existing employee must:

• be in permanent remunerative employment with a Northern Ireland-based company from day one of the Apprenticeship;
• be contracted to work a minimum of 21 hours per week (including day release/off-the-job training) with one employer; and
• meet all the other eligibility criteria as set out at paragraph 2.1.1

Notes on Existing Employee Entry
Assessment of the aptitude and ability of an existing employee to successfully complete a Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship is, initially, the joint responsibility of the Supplier and the participating employer.

PREVIOUS QUALIFICATIONS

Level 2/Level 3
A person who has previously achieved a recognised vocational qualification at Level 2/Level 3 or equivalent can undertake a Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship which is both unrelated to their qualification and classified as a priority skill area under ApprenticeshipsNI (see Annex 1), subject to satisfying eligibility criteria stated at paragraph 2.1. Such participants will attract funding at Level 4 - 6 specified in Annex 2.

Graduates
Graduates are eligible to enter ApprenticeshipsNI provision. However, the Supplier and the Employer must be satisfied that an Apprenticeship is an appropriate career path for the graduate to take.

Graduates may enter ApprenticeshipsNI provision in an occupational area that is both unrelated to their Degree subject and is classified as a priority skill area. Such participants will attract funding at Level 4 - 6 specified in Annex 2.

A graduate is defined as a person who has obtained a Degree, a Higher National Diploma, a Diploma in Higher Education, or an equivalent qualification awarded by a recognised University or other Institute of Higher or Further Education.

APPRENTICES FROM OTHER EUROPEAN UNION STATES
A person from other European Union (EU) member states and elsewhere is eligible to undertake a Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship if he/she satisfies the following criteria:

• are ‘settled’ in the UK, and been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the three years prior to the start of his/her training; or
• are a national of any EU country, or the spouse or civil partner or child of an EU national, and have been ordinarily resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) for at least three years prior to his/her start on Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship provision; or
• are an EEA migrant worker, or the spouse or civil partner or child of an EEA migrant worker, who is ordinarily resident in the UK at the start of training and has been ordinarily resident in the EEA throughout the three year period prior to that; or
• are a recognised refugee by the UK Government, or the spouse or civil partner or child of a refugee, or have been granted Humanitarian Protection, or have EU Temporary Protection; or
• are a person who has indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain.

APPRENTICES WORKING OUTSIDE NORTHERN IRELAND
A person beginning employment as an Apprentice with a Northern Ireland-based company who, initially or during the course of the Apprenticeship, will be temporarily working for that company outside Northern Ireland is eligible to follow a Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship.

INELIGIBLE PEOPLE
The following are not eligible to enter an Apprenticeship NI-funded Level 2/Level 3 Apprenticeship:

• a person taking up, or already in, a self-employment opportunity;
• a public sector employee (i.e. a direct employee of a public body).
• a non-EU National, who is subject to employment restrictions and / or a time limit on his/her stay in Northern Ireland at the time of application to enter training. This information can be obtained by checking the client’s passport;
• a person for whom the employer is claiming financial support from any other Departmental budget or programme; and
• a person following a full-time course of study in either further or higher education.