The new compressed air and vacuum technician apprenticeship program is now ready to accept the first batch of candidates. PWE report.

The British Compressed Air Association (BCAS) has selected EAL, part of the Enginuity Group, as the end point assessment agency (EPAO) for the new apprenticeship for compressed air and vacuum technicians.

The BCAS Training and Development Committee, in cooperation with its members and the Institute of Apprenticeship and Education (IfATE), played an important role in the development of the new apprenticeship. It recognizes the importance of developing specific engineering skills required by the compressed air and vacuum industry and helps free up funds to train future engineers.

During the three-year apprenticeship, candidates will learn how to debug compressed air and/or vacuum equipment and related systems, as well as service and maintenance, fault diagnosis, repair and system optimization.

Provided through a network of engineering training colleges throughout the UK, the first year of the course will be mainly university-based, with some practical engineering experience. It will also include the development of transferable skills, which can be provided through BCAS training courses, including the safe use of compressed air and compressed air handling technologies.

The next two years will focus more on the key engineering skills required by the development industry, including the installation, commissioning, service and maintenance of compressed air and vacuum systems.

At each stage of the candidate's development, EAL will provide a rigorous and robust endpoint assessment to verify the quality of the training received.

Roy Brooks, BCAS Technology Development Officer, commented: “Our research shows that our industry lacks qualified engineers. The average age of qualified engineers is currently 48 years old. We need to take immediate action to ensure that we acquire the required skills. In the future. We. I’m very happy that the new apprenticeship can now be delivered to our future engineers to help fill this skills gap."

Mathew Gould, elected chair of the BCAS Training and Development Committee and the Compressed Air and Vacuum Technical Apprenticeship Trailblazer group added:

"I am very pleased that after the hard work of the committee, our apprenticeship standards have been approved for delivery and EPAO has been appointed.

"This standard ensures that we have an industry-specific way to bring in the next generation of professionals and provide standardization for their skills, abilities, behavior and safety work. The standard ensures that apprentices obtain national apprenticeship qualifications, qualifications, and qualifications after successfully completing their studies. Apply for EngTech professional accreditation from the Society of Operations Engineers.

"I encourage all employers in our industry to consider hiring apprentices according to this standard, and the committee looks forward to hearing their progress and success."

To view the complete professional standards, please visit: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/compressed-airand-vacuum-technician-v1-0

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