Machining Technician Level 3 Apprenticeship

Overview of the role

The broad purpose of the occupation is to produce complex and precision work by machining components. Components are machined from metal or specialist materials using conventional or CNC machine tools. Machining Technicians interpret information and plan their activities. They also set up, operate, adjust or edit machine tool settings. When using CNC equipment, they can produce, prove or edit programmes. They inspect components and machinery, report issues and support continuous improvement activities. They typically work in a manufacturing environment. Depending on the organisation, they may be required to work at height or work shifts.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with other Machining Technicians. They also interact with various stakeholders. They typically report to an engineering or manufacturing team leader. Typically, this would be as part of a defined or cross functional team. They may also interact with customers, suppliers, colleagues, quality auditors and regulators.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for the quality and accuracy of their work. They also must work efficiently and be productive in the work they undertake.  They must work both individually and as part of a larger team. They must work within the relevant health, safety and environmental regulations. This includes the use of appropriate protective clothing and equipment.  They are responsible for the correct use and housekeeping of machinery, tools and equipment. All work must be completed in a safe and efficient manner as directed by supervisory staff.

Typical job titles include:

Knowledge

K1: Awareness of health and safety regulations, relevance to the occupation and the Machinist’s responsibilities. Health and Safety at Work Act; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH); Working in Confined Spaces; Lone Working; Provision of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER); Electrical Safety and Compliance; Noise Regulation; Slips Trips and Falls; Display Screen Equipment; The Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), Manual Handling, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), risk assessments and method statements and the implications of not adhering to guidelines and procedures.

K2: Awareness of hazardous waste regulations; Recyclable materials and waste disposal procedures and the implications of not complying with regulations and procedures.

K3: Awareness of environment and sustainability regulations, relevance to the occupation and the Machining Technician’s responsibilities. Environmental Protection Act; Sustainability; Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE); Energy monitoring; Data logging to optimise energy performance; The Climate Change Agreements; Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC).

K4: Engineering representations, drawings, graphical information and specifications.

K5: Engineering mathematical and scientific principles: calculations, conversions, flow rates and equipment sizing.

K6: Planning techniques, time management, workflow, work scheduling, work plans, documents and work categorisation systems.

K7: Engineering materials and their structure, properties and characteristics; impact on use, how and why engineering materials can fail.

K8: Awareness of engineering standards and regulations: British Standards (BS); International Organisation for Standardisation standards (ISO); European Norm (EN); Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

K9: Tooling and work-holding devices: purpose and operation of devices for carrying out complex machining tasks.

K10: Engineering machining processes tools and equipment: Milling; Turning; Grinding; Electro Discharge Machine (EDM); Gear Cutting.

K11: Machining operations and techniques to produce complex components.

K12: Quality assurance: principles, practices and record keeping.

K13: Fault finding, diagnostic methods and techniques for identifying engineering and manufacturing problems. Escalation techniques.

K14: Use and application of measurement, calibration and testing equipment.

K15: Communication techniques: verbal. Machining industry terminology.

K16: Documentation – electronic and paper.

K17: Housekeeping and maintenance practices and techniques: planned, preventative and predictive methods, frequency, and reactive activities.

K18: How organisations vary regarding their work, culture, values and production processes in the Machining industry.

K19: Inspection processes and procedures; documentation and escalation.

K20: Technological development and innovation in the machining sector; Industry 4.0; digitalisation.

K21: Continuous improvement principles and practices: Lean; Six Sigma; Kaizen.

K22: Equality, diversity and inclusion requirements in the workplace.

K23: Stock and services considerations. Availability, stock lead times. Correct handling. Stock value. Faulty stock and returns process.

Skills

S1: Comply with statutory health and safety regulations and procedures.

S2: Comply with environmental, ethical and sustainability regulations and procedures: safe disposal of waste, re-cycling or re-use of materials and efficient use of resources.

S3: Prepare and set up conventional or CNC machines.

S4: Operate and adjust conventional or CNC machines.

S5: Apply risk assessment and hazard identification processes and procedures in the work area.

S6: Monitor, obtain and check stock and supplies, and complete stock returns.

S7: Record information – paper based or electronic. For example, energy usage, job sheets, risk assessments, equipment service records, test results, handover documents and manufacturers’ documentation, asset management records, work sheets, checklists, waste environmental records and any legal reporting requirements.

S8: Read and interpret information. For example, data and documentation used to produce machined components.

S9: Apply engineering, mathematical and scientific principles.

S10: Plan and organise own work and resources.

S11: Follow and apply inspection, quality assurance procedures and processes.

S12: Select machining process.

S13: Select and setup tooling and work holding devices.

S14: Set and adjust machine operating parameters. For example, setting feeds and speeds for roughing and finishing operations, downloading and editing programmes when using a CNC machine tool.

S15: Apply machining operations and techniques to produce complex components with features. For example, parallel; stepped; angular diameters and faces; grooves; slots; recesses and undercuts; radii and chamfers; internal and external forms and profiles; reamed; bored; drilled and electro eroded holes; internal and external screw threads.

S16: Measure and check components.

S17: Select and check condition of tools and equipment. Identify issues, resolve and take action as needed.

S18: Identify and action issues in the manufacturing process.

S19: Apply fault-finding and diagnostic testing procedures to identify faults. Diagnose and resolve issues. Escalate issues.

S20: Maintain the work area and return any resources and consumables.

S21: Communicate with others verbally. For example, colleagues and stakeholders.

S22: Follow machine shut down, safe isolation, handover, start up or warm up procedures. Escalate issues.

S23: Apply continuous improvement techniques. Devise suggestions for improvement.

S24: Apply ethical principles.

S25: Apply team working principles

EAL Level 3 Extended diploma in Machining (Development Knowledge)

This is delivered for 1 day a week in college with the following subjects each year.

The Level 3 knowledge qualification units are:

Year 1 – delivered in our Braintree campus

Engineering and environmental health and safety
Preparing and using lathes for turning operations
Preparing and using milling machines

Year 2 – delivered at Colchester Campus

Engineering maths
Advanced manufacturing CNC milling techniques
CNC programming/machining
CAD/CAM

Year 3 – delivered at Colchester Campus

Communication for machinists/engineers
Properties and applications of engineering materials
Advanced manufacturing CNC turning techniques
Further Engineering mathematics

Year 4 – This will be a mixture of the first 6 months onsite in Colchester, then remote supporting for gateway into EPA.

Apprentices will also undertake a Level 3 Competency Diploma, which will be assessed in the work place for 2 years, and the competency qualification units will be discussed and agreed with the employer.

English and Maths

What are the entry requirements?

Individual employers will set the recruitment and selection criteria for their Apprenticeships. In order to optimise success, candidates will typically have 4 GCSEs at Grade 4 or Grade C or equivalent, including mathematics, English and a Science.

This section outlines the information that you and your employer need to know about your end-point assessment (EPA). You and your employer should also read the end-point assessment plan for the full details including roles and responsibilities, assessment method requirements and re-sits and re-takes.

What is an end-point assessment and why it happens

An EPA is an assessment at the end of the apprenticeship. It assesses your competence against the knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) on the occupational standard. You will have been trained on them during your training, both on and off the job. The EPA is your chance to show an independent assessor you can do the occupation you have been trained for. Your employer will only recommend you start the EPA when you have finished your training and both your employer and you think you are ready. Your employer will choose an end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) to deliver the EPA. Your employer and training provider should provide you with support on what to expect and how to prepare for your EPA.

The typical length of the on-programme (training) part of this apprenticeship is 42 months. The end-point assessment period will typically last 3 months.

The grades available for this apprenticeship are:

Practical demonstration with questions

• fail

• pass

Interview underpinned by a portfolio of evidence

• fail

• pass

• distinction

Knowledge test

• fail

• pass

• distinction

At the end of the apprenticeship, and having passed the EPA, you will be awarded with your apprenticeship certificate.

Gateway

The gateway is the point when all on-programme training and any mandatory qualification requirements have been met. When you have completed your training and your employer says you are competent in your occupation, you enter the gateway. The EPAO will check any mandatory qualifications are complete. They will tell you how to submit any necessary documents (for example, a portfolio). After the EPAO confirms that you have met all the requirements, the EPA starts.

When you reach the gateway, you need to complete the following:

• have achieved English and mathematics qualifications (including those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement) as specified by the apprenticeship funding rules. British Sign Language (BSL) qualifications are an alternative to English qualifications for those who have BSL as their primary language.
• passed any other mandated qualifications listed in the occupational standard. For the machining technician, The qualification(s) required is: EAL L3 Extended diploma in Machining (Development Knowledge) or Pearson BTEC L3 diploma in Advanced manufacturing engineering (Machining) (Development Technical Knowledge) or City and Guilds Machining technician (1273)

• for the interview underpinned by a portfolio of evidence you must submit: portfolio of evidence

• for the practical assessment with questions the EPAO must discuss with the employer the suitable machine(s) type and components produced by the apprentice in the workplace in the normal course of the role. The EPAO will then use this information to select an appropriate assessment task from a bank of tasks that have been developed in consultation with employers. The apprentice and employer are not to be told the machine type and component to be produced in advance of the assessment

Where geometric tolerances are appropriate to the specific features these will be set by the EPAO in accordance with the practical demonstration task.

Portfolio of evidence requirements:

The apprentice must compile a portfolio of evidence during the on-programme period of the apprenticeship. It should only contain evidence related to the KSBs that will be assessed by this assessment method. It will typically contain 8 discrete pieces of evidence. Evidence must be mapped against the KSBs. Evidence may be used to demonstrate more than one KSB; a qualitative as opposed to quantitative approach is suggested.

Evidence sources may include:

• workplace documentation and records, for example:
• workplace policies and procedures
• witness statements
• annotated photographs
• video clips (maximum total duration 10 minutes); the apprentice must be in view and identifiable

This is not a definitive list; other evidence sources can be included.

The portfolio of evidence should not include reflective accounts or any methods of self-assessment. Any employer contributions should focus on direct observation of performance (for example, witness statements) rather than opinions. The evidence provided should be valid and attributable to the apprentice; the portfolio of evidence should contain a statement from the employer and apprentice confirming this.

The EPAO should not assess the portfolio of evidence directly as it underpins the interview. Independent assessors should review the portfolio of evidence to prepare questions for the interview assessment method. They are not required to provide feedback after this review.

What can I do next?

Completion of the Apprenticeship is designed to be recognised by relevant Professional Engineering Institutions at the appropriate level of professional registration (EngTech). In the case of the Military specific pathway in the Aircraft Maintenance Fitter/Technician Standard, professional competence will be recognised by the Military Independent Assessment Authority (MIAA).

Possible progression into further training as a Higher Apprentice Level 4/5 or a Degree Apprenticeship level 6 with the support of a suitable employer.

How often do I have to attend college?

College attendance of one day per week will be required over the duration of the course.

Apprentices will attend college once a week for a mix of theory and practical 09:00 – 17:00, on different days each year, for a total of 4 years.

This will be in conjunction with further assessment in the workplace. Our well-equipped workshops will allow apprentices to carry out practical work in a safe environment.