Apprenticeships have always been a big part of engineering. 

But since last year's apprenticeship reforms and the introduction of the new standards, engineering apprenticeships are more important than ever. The standards are now designed by employers themselves – big names like Airbus, Rolls Royce and the Royal Navy, as well as SMEs. This means engineering apprenticeships include the specific skills required for specific job roles – which employers love.  

Engineering apprenticeships are also available at higher and degree level – making them the ideal way for prospective engineers to fast track their careers. Apprentices earn while they learn, train on-site and get a degree without having to pay student fees – so they're a big hit with learners too.  

What engineering apprenticeships are there? 

There's a huge range of engineering apprenticeships available at all levels: 

• Design engineering  
• Manufacturing engineering
• Electrical engineering  
• Mechanical engineering 
• Civil engineering 

 How are they funded?  

If you pay the apprenticeship levy, you can use your funds to pay for training. If you don't pay the levy, apprenticeships are co-funded by the Government – employers pay 10% and the Government covers the rest.  

How are engineering apprenticeships delivered? 

You can choose a training provider to deliver the apprenticeship, or become an employer-provider and manage the training in-house. Either way, employers have an important role to play. Apprentices spend the majority of their programme on-site, and 20% of their time completing off-the-job training. Each apprentice is assigned a mentor to provide support, track their progress, plan activities, evaluate work, give feedback, and prepare them for the end-point assessment (EPA). Employers, training providers and assessors must work closely together to support apprentices throughout their programme.  

Degree apprentices will spend time at university too, so you'll also need to work with their academic tutor.  

Using a learning software 

With a learning software, engineering apprenticeships are much easier to manage. Instead of writing notes describing the practical skills they've learnt, learners can upload photos, videos and audio recordings of them in action and store them in their eportfolio. Mentors can log in to evaluate work, send feedback, create resources and plan activities. They can track their apprentices' progress online and see any areas of improvement they need to target. All users can access the learning software wherever they are, so it's easy to communicate and work together.  

At OneFile, our learning software can be used for all types of vocational training – including engineering apprenticeships. It has an integrated VLE, eportfolio, reporting suite and offline app, so engineers can use OneFile wherever they are – even in remote locations and overseas. That's why OneFile is already used by the biggest names in engineering – including National Grid, Balfour Beatty and Airbus.  

To find out exactly how OneFile works, the benefits, and what other people think, download our free guide.