Engineering Maintenance Fitter
What is the work like?
As an engineering maintenance fitter, you would service and repair machinery and equipment in a range of industries, including transport, manufacturing, aerospace and power. You could work on mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic and computerised systems to guard against production delays or shut-down.
Your job would fall into one of two areas – preventative (planned) maintenance and emergency maintenance.
In preventative maintenance, your duties would involve:- making scheduled checks on machinery and parts, finding and fixing faults, and recalibrating instruments
- oiling and cleaning machinery and parts
- carrying out scheduled overhaul and replacement of parts that have reached the end of their working life.
- responding immediately to machinery breakdowns
- fixing faults on site or arranging for replacement equipment to be installed.
You would use manufacturer's technical manuals and diagrams to help locate faults, and carry out the work with a range of testing instruments and tools, including welding equipment. You would usually work as part of a team with engineering technicians and shift supervisors.
What qualifications and experience will employers look for?
You may be able to enter this kind of work on an engineering Apprenticeship. The range of Apprenticeships available in your area will depend on the local jobs market and the types of skills employers need from their workers. For more information on Apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
To get on to an Apprenticeship, you may need some GCSEs (A-E) in subjects such as English, maths, science and technology or engineering.
As an alternative, you could take college qualifications like the BTEC Certificate and Diploma in Operations and Maintenance Engineering, or Manufacturing Engineering. Courses like these are useful for learning some of the skills needed for this job. Your local college should be able to give you more details about their engineering courses.
You can also find more information about relevant courses from the jobs listed in the related profiles section below.
Contact SEMTA and Women into Science, Engineering and Construction for general information about engineering as a career. The Engineering Training Council (Northern Ireland) also has careers and course information for the area.
What further training and development can I do?
There is a wide range of work-based qualifications available. Which ones you take would depend on the type of work you carry out. Some options include the following NVQs at levels 2 and 3:
- Engineering Maintenance and Installation
- Process Engineering Maintenance
- Engineering Technology Maintenance
- Engineering Maintenance
- Maintaining Plant and Systems.
Where can I go for more information?
Interpoint20-24 York Street
Belfast
BT15 1AQ
Tel: 028 9032 9878
Weston House
246 High Holborn
London
WC1B 7EX
Tel: 020 3206 0408
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD18 0JT
Tel: 0800 282167
If you would like to discuss your career options with a learning adviser, call 0800 100 900 or use our online enquiry form
Alternatively, you can visit our website at: www.direct.gov.uk/careersadvice
Related profiles...
Electrical Engineering Technician
Mechanical Engineering Technician
What salary and other benefits can I expect?
- Starting salaries are between £15,000 and £19,000.
- Experienced fitters can earn between £20,000 and £27,000.
- Senior fitters with additional responsibilities may earn up to £33,000.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
What are the hours and working conditions?
You would normally work 37 to 40 hours, five days a week. Shiftwork and overtime are common, and you may be on-call to deal with emergencies.
Depending on your job, you could be based in a factory or production plant, or outdoors in all weathers, for example repairing equipment on a building site. You would wear protective clothing, which could include overall, hard hat and safety boots.
What skills and knowledge will I need?
- good practical skills
- good problem solving skills
- an understanding of technical manuals and engineering diagrams
- communication skills
- the ability to work quickly under pressure and to deadlines
- the initiative to work on your own or as part of a team
- good eyesight and normal colour vision
- a knowledge of health and safety issues.
What opportunities are there?
There is a steady demand for fitters all over the country, with the largest concentration of jobs found in the West Midlands. Your main source of work would be with engineering, production and manufacturing companies.
You could also find opportunities to work abroad on contracts for multinational companies, particularly in EU countries, the USA, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
With experience and further training, you could progress to supervisory jobs or technician roles.
You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and general reading: (links open in new window)
SCENTA
JustEngineers.net
The Engineer Online
Engineering Jobs Network
Jobcentre Plus
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
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