From 1 September 2024 the HTQ HNs aligned to this standard are available for delivery. The list of qualifications can be found here.

Overview of the role

Providing specialist technical support for engineers.

Details of standard

Occupation summary

This occupation is found in large and small engineering and manufacturing organisations providing products and services throughout a wide range of sectors, such as Automotive, Aerospace and Airworthiness, Chemical Processing, Land Systems, Marine, Maritime Defence, Materials Manufacturers and their respective supply chains. Research indicates that the sector needs to recruit approximately 124,000 engineers and technicians every year.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide specialist technical support for engineers, so that organisations can develop, produce or test new and 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 and data. They will make decisions, solve problems and produce and where applicable, update technical documentation, reports or specifications covering areas such as quality, reliability, production schedules and 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 or plant based or more commonly combination of both, working with engineering or manufacturing teams at an operational level such as with production team leaders 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 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.

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. Although working within defined quality processes and procedures, they are responsible for the delivery, quality and accuracy of the work they complete. 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. They use a range of tools and techniques to support decision making and solve problems that are often complex and non-routine. They also have a responsibility to identify and contribute to making improvements such as business processes, procedures, ways and methods of working.

Typical job titles include:

Costing engineer Installation engineer Manufacturing procurement engineer Manufacturing production engineer Manufacturing quality engineer Process engineer Production support engineer Quality engineer Test and commissioning engineer

Occupation duties

Duty KSBs

Duty 1 Ensure the safe and efficient performance of every production task in compliance with company procedures, approved engineering data and local Health and Safety requirements. Ensure Safe Systems of Work and risk assessments (assisting as necessary in the completion of risk assessments) are adhered to for engineering or manufacturing activities.

K5 K7 K9 K10 K11 K13 K23

S8

B1 B5 B6 B7

Duty 2 Prepare product and process documentation by collecting, analysing, and summarising information and trends.

K1 K6 K7 K9 K10 K11 K12 K14 K20 K21

S1 S2 S3 S7 S8 S9

B4 B6 B7

Duty 3 Manage internal or Supplier Quality Notifications, and liaison with the required stakeholders for resolution.

K1 K2 K5 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K14

S1 S2 S3 S5 S6 S8

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7

Duty 4 Liaise with internal and external customers to implement programme initiatives, such as the application of lean analysis methods, processes and tools.

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K8 K9 K10 K11 K12 K14 K16 K17 K18 K19 K20 K23

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7

Duty 5 Carry out new product introduction or existing product modifications within engineering or manufacturing by contributing to activities such as facilitation of quality activities (including any testing or commissioning requirements), supplier approvals, gate reviews.

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K12 K13 K14 K16 K17 K21 K22 K23

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S10

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7

Duty 6 Deliver financial planning or costing analysis such as, estimation of costs for manufacture, supplying drawings or specification for quotations, obtaining manufacture quotes, calculating costs associated with quality problem or machine downtime.

K2 K5 K6 K7 K9 K10 K11 K13 K14 K15 K19 K20 K21 K22 K23

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S8 S9 S10

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6

Duty 7 Develop new technology initiatives by contributing to activities such as, justifying capital investment equipment and system upgrades from purchase through to installation and commissioning.

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K12 K13 K14 K15 K16 K17 K19 K21 K23

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7

Duty 8 Produce and maintain reports measuring Key Performance Indicators for data management activities.

K2 K4 K5 K6 K8 K10 K13 K14 K15 K16 K17 K21 K22

S1 S2 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

B1 B2 B6 B7

Duty 9 Ensure processes and current methods of engineering and manufacturing are as efficient and cost effective, such as, utilising time and motion analysis, line balancing and flow to achieve the required level of production output.

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K9 K10 K11 K12 K15 K16 K17 K19 K20 K23

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S8 S9 S10

B2 B3 B4 B5 B7

Duty 10 Liaise with appropriate internal and external stakeholders at all levels to ensure that engineering and manufacturing operations are completed in line with the agreed time scales. Examples of stakeholders could include production managers, production operatives, auditors, suppliers, customers.

K1 K2 K3 K4 K6 K7 K8 K13 K14 K16 K17 K19

S1 S2 S3 S5

B1 B2 B4 B5 B6

Duty 11 Ensure work process and outcomes comply with any local, national or international regulatory or compliance requirements such as, maintain  compliance to Aerospace Regulatory bodies (CAA, EASA,MAA) as well as the wider regulations (such as Anti Bribery and Corruption, Export Control).

K5 K7 K9 K10 K11 K13 K14 K15 K16

S1 S3 S6

B1 B3 B4 B6 B7

Duty 12 Resolve identified engineering or manufacturing problems such as, contributing to the route cause analysis exercise applying appropriate levels of containment and corrective action.

K1 K2 K5 K6 K7 K8 K10 K14 K15 K16 K17 K20 K22

S1 S3 S5 S7

B2 B7

Duty 13 Produce engineering or manufacturing documentation such as, Build Manuals, Standard Operating Instructions and processes, Bill of Materials, to aid and ensure consistent, compliant and cost effective manufacturing processes.

K7 K10 K14 K16 K17

S1 S5 S7

B2 B3

Duty 14 Review engineering or manufacturing methods to determine the most effective and economical method whilst meeting drawing and specification requirements.

K2 K7 K14 K16 K17 K22 K23

S1 S7 S10

B2 B3 B6 B7


KSBs

Knowledge

K1: Problem solving tools and techniques. Such as practical problem solving (PPS), root cause analysis (RCA) and process failure mode effects analysis (PFMEA). Back to Duty

K2: Effective communication techniques including listening, questioning and support of others. Back to Duty

K3: Use, benefits and applications of lean methods and tools used in manufacturing and engineering (such as Kaizen, Six Sigma and 8 wastes). Back to Duty

K4: How Industry 4.0 will impact organisations, including the integration of automation, digital systems and manufacturing engineering systems. Back to Duty

K5: Quality management systems used such as ISO9001, AS9100, ISO 14001 and TS16949, its purpose and internal governance arrangements to ensure compliance. Back to Duty

K6: Different manufacturing methods used, their applications, such as machining, joining, forming, assembling, shaping, processing, printing, moulding, extruding and casting. Back to Duty

K7: Principles of quality control and quality assurance in a manufacturing and engineering environment. Back to Duty

K8: Team integration techniques, including conflict resolution and managing difficult conversations (team working). Back to Duty

K9: Core engineering principles such as mathematics, science, mechanical and electrical and electronic applications relevant to manufacturing and engineering activity undertaken. Back to Duty

K10: Importance for individuals to use and follow the organisations approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and documentation recording systems and the potential implications on safety, quality and delivery if they are not adhered to. Back to Duty

K11: Statutory and organisation health and safety policies, procedures and regulations that must be adhered to in a manufacturing and engineering environment including the risk assessment process, procedures and documentation used within the work area. Back to Duty

K12: Project management techniques, such as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT), stakeholder matrices, risk mapping, radar chart and summary risk profiles. Back to Duty

K13: How human factors (organisational, environment and job factors) can influence and impact individual characteristics, performance and behaviours in the workplace. Back to Duty

K14: Engineering and manufacturing related documentation used such as job cards or build records, 2D and 3D drawings or models, Bill of Materials (BOM), Cost Analysis Reports, Compliance  Report, Standard Operating Instructions (SOI's), Standard Process Instructions (POI's), Engineering Query Notifications (EQN's) and Drawing Query Notifications (DQN's). Back to Duty

K15: Prioritisation of workload and time management techniques to ensure that personal and team objectives are achieved effectively. Back to Duty

K16: Engineering and manufacturing data collection systems used, their format and content. Back to Duty

K17: How organisations manage and monitor internal and or supplier performance to ensure that cost, quality, delivery and sustainability objectives are being delivered. Back to Duty

K18: Use and applications of common metallic and non – metallic materials used in manufacturing and engineering. Back to Duty

K19: Different production methods used and their applications such as single, batch, flow and mass. Back to Duty

K20: Different methods, tools and frequency used to check quality in manufacturing and engineering including measurements such as (dimensions, weight, signal, temperature, time) and testing (such as non-destructive and destructive). Back to Duty

K21: Departmental process used to create, record and review financial data and information. Back to Duty

K22: The different applications and limitations of computer based software systems or packages used such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), Data Analytics and Databases. Back to Duty

K23: The impact of sustainability and environmental efficiency and how such matters influence manufacturing decisions. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: Read and extract relevant engineering and manufacturing related data and information (such as workplans or project plans, schedules,  drawings, specifications, production data, quality reports, costing data, statistical information) drawing accurate conclusions and making informed decisions. Back to Duty

S2: Use project management tools, such as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT), stakeholder matrices, risk mapping, radar chart and summary risk profiles. Back to Duty

S3: Use problem solving tools such as Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Process Failure Modes Effects Analysis (PFMEA), Fishbone, Practical Problem Solving (PPS) and Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP). Back to Duty

S4: Analyse and interpret data and information in order to generate manufacturing engineering documentation such as Parts Per Million (PPM) quality adherence, cost analysis and test data. Back to Duty

S5: Communicate using the appropriate method for the audience such as, formal and informal presentations, written reports, verbal, electronic, social media and incorporating relevant and appropriate data or metrics. Back to Duty

S6: Use the approved process and quality compliance procedure to create or amend engineering or manufacturing documentation. Back to Duty

S7: Use lean tools and techniques, such as Six Sigma, 8 Wastes, Workplace organisation such as 5S's (sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain), Kaizen and Poka-Yoke (Error proofing). Back to Duty

S8: Apply documentation control processes and procedures such as format, location, access, authorisation. Back to Duty

S9: Use financial planning, recording and review processes and documentation such as departmental budgets, estimating, cost control, cost forecasting, and investment appraisal. Back to Duty

S10: Use computer based software systems or packages such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), Data Analytics and Databases. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Champions the importance of adherence to the organisation’s Environmental, Health and Safety management systems:- actively displays and promotes a safety first culture within the organisation. Back to Duty

B2: Operates in a systematic, proactive and transparent way. Back to Duty

B3: Actively promotes the case for the adoption of emerging and advanced engineering and manufacturing technologies to optimise performance. Back to Duty

B4: Takes full responsibility for own professional development, seeking opportunities to enhance knowledge, skills and experience. Keeping abreast of developments in engineering processes manufacturing and emerging technologies. Back to Duty

B5: Complies with statutory and organisational health and safety regulations and policies at all times. Accepts responsibility for their workload with a responsible approach to risk. Demonstrates a high level of motivation and resilience when facing challenge. Back to Duty

B6: Creates and maintains positive, professional, trusting and ethical working relationships with their team and the wider range of internal, external and connected stakeholders. Back to Duty

B7: Acts professionally with a positive and respectful attitude. Back to Duty


Qualifications

English and Maths

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.

Other mandatory qualifications

High Level Qualification

L4 HNC in Engineering or Manufacturing disciplines that fully align with the KSBs of the standard.

Level: 4

Additional information: Aerospace sector:In addition, those undertaking this apprentice in the aerospace sector must undertake the additional qualifications listed below in order to meet the Civil Aviation (CAA) requirements

High Level Qualification

Aerospace mandatory qualification: Level 2 Diploma in Aerospace and Aviation Engineering (Foundation Competence).

Level: 2

Additional information: In order to meet the requirements set out by CAA, all individuals undertaking this apprenticeship must complete a period of mandatory protected training leading to the successful achievement of this mandated qualification.

High Level Qualification

Aerospace mandatory qualification Level 4 Diploma in Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (Development Competence).

Level: 4

Professional recognition

This standard aligns with the following professional recognition:

  • Engineering Council for Engineering Technician (EngTech) for Engineering Technician
  • Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) for Engineering Technician
  • Royal Aeronautical Society for Engineering Technician


Additional details

Occupational Level:

4

Duration (months):

42

Review

this apprenticeship will be reviewed in accordance with our change request policy.

Status: Approved for delivery
Level: 4
Reference: ST0841
Version: 1.3
Date updated: 04/12/2023
Approved for delivery: 5 November 2019
Route: Engineering and manufacturing
Typical duration to gateway: 42 months (this does not include EPA period)
Maximum funding: £21000
LARS Code: 523
EQA Provider: Ofqual
Employers involved in creating the standard: GKN Aerospace, Jaguar Land Rover cars, BAE Systems, Toyota UK, GTA England, Leonardo Helicopters, British Plastics Federation, JCB, Siemens, Sheffield Forgemaster, Liberty Speciality Steels

Version log

Version Change detail Earliest start date Latest start date
1.3 Occupational standard and end-point assessment plan revised 04/12/2023 Not set
1.2 End point assessment plan revised 02/11/2023 03/12/2023
1.1 End point assessment and standard revised. 24/11/2022 01/11/2023
1.0 Approved for delivery 05/11/2019 23/11/2022

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