Do you have a high level of attention to detail, excellent numeracy and IT skills, and a love of flying vehicles? Aerospace Engineering could be the career for you! Read on to find out more.
Career Overview
Completing the level 6 Aerospace Engineer apprenticeship unlocks many doors into the world of Aeronautical and Astronautical engineering: in other words, you will be able to make anything from drones to rockets fly in the sky or beyond.
The duration of this degree apprenticeship is typically 48 months; however, this will vary based on factors such as job role, prior qualifications, etc.
Specific careers titles that are typical of this degree include Aircraft Mechanic, Aerospace Engineer, Aircraft Engineer and Advanced Aircraft Manufacturer. The average salary for careers in Aerospace Engineering field in the UK is £48,000 per annum*; £18,400 higher than the national average. As your career progresses, you can expect a salary of £70,000+ in a senior job role.
*according to jobted.com
Entry Criteria
As this is a degree apprenticeship, applicants are often required to have at least level 3 qualifications or 96 UCAS points or equivalent, preferably including STEM based subjects. An example of this could be A levels which include. Some example STEM subjects would be Maths, Physics, ICT, or Computing.
This would be alongside 5 GCSEs at Grade 4 or above, including the foundation subjects of Maths, English, and Double science or equivalent.
As with most apprenticeships, you must have level 2 Maths and English qualifications to complete the qualification, however if you don’t already have these you will get the opportunity to complete these during the apprenticeship if required.
Key Responsibilities
As an Aerospace Engineer, you will be working in research and development, testing, and production and maintenance of aircraft or spacecraft technology. It is vital that quality checks and procedures are carried out regularly and correctly to remain in line with health and safety regulations in this job role, as there is a lot of equipment and resources used that could pose a high risk.
Core Competencies
As part of the apprenticeship, you’ll have to carry out duties in order to satisfy a number of core competencies. Some examples are:
- complying with statutory, organisational, environmental, health and safety regulations
- applying analytical methods (engineering mathematics – algebra, differentiation, function, geometry, trigonometry, statistics)
- a wide range of technical skill sets that can be
applied in a range of aerospace disciplines and contexts that could include
research, development, design, procurement, logistics, planning, production,
quality assurance, inspection, testing, installation, commissioning,
maintenance, life cycle management, decommissioning, and environmental
compliance such as:
- Planning what has to be done, when and by whom
- Ensuring that resources are available and capable of achieving the required outcomes.
- Allocating and deploying resources in a timely manner
- Completing/project managing work outputs/programmes to the required specification
- Monitoring programmes of work and report progress to appropriate personnel.
- Agreeing any amendments to work specification/work requirements
- Ensuring that quality assurance requirements are adhered to
- Retaining and storing documentation and records for traceability
Knowledge Modules and Vendor Exams
There are three qualifications that need to be completed in order to complete the apprenticeship. These are:
- Level 2 Diploma in Aerospace and Aviation (Foundation Competence)
- Level 4 Diploma in Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (Development Competence)
- Level 6 Bachelor Honours Degree (BEng) Stipulated by the employer and accredited by an Engineering Council licenced Professional Engineering Institution
All of these have to be completed in order to get the final certification. The apprenticeship is industry recognised, aligning with the current UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC) at Incorporated Engineering (IEng) level.
Conclusion
You’ll certainly come very close to the common childhood dream of becoming an astronaut in the Aerospace Engineering career, working with prestige companies behind the scenes shaping the future and helping unlock much more of the undiscovered universe.
To find open positions offering an Aerospace Engineer degree apprenticeship, you can check out the Government website or by contacting training providers such as Apprentice Now. Not the career for you? That’s fine, you can find more apprenticeships in the UK here on our blog.
