Machining Technician Advanced Apprenticeship level 3 – P4888

Our Machining Technician Apprenticeship is conducted over 42 months and covers how to set up, operate, adjust or edit conventional or Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machinery to manufacture complex components. As part of your apprenticeship, you will complete a level 3 Machining Diploma whilst on a day release programme based at our Abbey Park Campus technology centre, before being put forward for an End Point Assessment (EPA) to gain the overall apprenticeship.

Much of the competency that you will be required to demonstrate will be a result of your day to day activities in your place of work. As part of your apprenticeship, you will complete an EPA, consisting of a practical observation, knowledge assessment, and a professional discussion with an independent awarding body. The course has been designed for apprentices who are covering all types of manufacturing by way of machining.

An apprenticeship is a job with training. You will be employed at least 30 hours a week, with 80% of your working hours in your day-to-day role and 20% of your time engaged in training or study.

Year 1

During the first year, you will cover the acts and regulations important to this industry including the Health and Safety at Work Act, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), manual handling, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), Noise at Work Regulations and Electricity at Work Regulations.

You will also learn how to produce risk assessments; how they must be applied in the workplace. Manufacturing and assembly processes include filing, sawing, drilling, bolting, turning and milling. Safe use of tools and equipment (hand and power tools); right tool for the job, requirements for machinery checks, adjustments, operation and shut down. You will also learn about different materials and how they are used and applied.

Year 2

Following on in year 2 and year 3 you will learn higher level machining practices including advanced lathe and milling work, CNC programming and machining as well as advanced manufacturing techniques with CNC.

Throughout the delivery of the advanced machining practices you will learn the importance of planning activities, engineering inspection and quality control, work place improvement techniques and computer aided design (CAD).

Ideally, you should have achieved grade 5 or above in GCSE maths and English. However, if you have achieved a grade 4 in either then during your program there will be an opportunity to enrol on a level 2 functional skills course which is the requirement of the overall qualification.

During the course which lasts 42 months, you will have various assessments. The level 3 diploma will see both knowledge and practical assessments in a college setting. You will be regularly visited by our Apprentice Skills Coach in your place of work to review your training and assessments and to monitor your progression at work.

Once your diploma is completed, you will then move forward to the EPA (End Point Assessment), these will be your final assessments to deem you competent. There will be a knowledge test using multiple choice questions exam, a professional discussion based around the portfolio of work that you have created based on your role at work and a practical demonstration with questions within the working environment which can take around 4.5 hours.

Tuition fees

Disclaimer

If the course is longer than one year the total fees are for the first year only and further fees may apply in future years. All fees are based on a ‘home’ learner status. Please contact us for information on overseas fees.

For more information, please see our course fee disclaimers page.

Learn more about fees

There are various options depending upon the engineering pathway you have been working towards you will qualify as a machining technician. You are now in a position to progress onto a level 4 engineering qualification or move into full time education to carry out a degree course.

If you would like further information, advice and guidance you may wish to make an appointment with our independent careers team at the college.

You can express your interest in this apprenticeship by completing an application form or alternatively, you can apply for one of our live apprenticeship vacancies via the College website. Our apprenticeships can also be found on the government’s apprenticeship site, gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship. As with any other job application, if you are shortlisted, you will be invited for an interview at the employer’s premises. You can apply for as many apprenticeship vacancies as you want.