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Training
IPAF Powered Access 2022
Apprenticeships – facing the future A NEW IPAF-DESIGNED APPRENTICESHIP IS HELPING TO CREATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF POWERED ACCESS ENGINEERS. KATHERINE PRICE REPORTS
The first intake of the MEWP apprenticeship scheme at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
Properly qualified engineers are the lifeblood of the powered access industry. But, as in so many other industries, skilled workers are in short supply. To address that shortage, IPAF helped launch a new specialist apprenticeship scheme last year, aimed at certifying a new generation of MEWP technicians. A year after the three-year Level 3 Lift Truck and Powered Access Technician apprenticeship was launched, IPAF is already seeing positive signs, with more than double the expected number of apprentices signing up. “Powered access from a technical perspective and general plant continue to diverge, so it was critical that this industry created a way of sustaining itself by generating specialist skills to repair and maintain the equipment that we hire out,” explains Horizon Platforms chief executive Ben Hirst, who sits on the IPAF board and is vice-chair of the UK Country Council.
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On joining IPAF in October 2017, UK market general manager Richard Whiting was tasked with designing a new training scheme and qualification to establish a pipeline of talent. The federation teamed up with North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) to deliver the new apprenticeship, which IPAF members helped to design as well as providing equipment for apprentices to train on. Whiting says: “Whereas engineers used to do a general plant maintenance engineering qualification, this gives them direct experience of working on the types of scissor lifts and booms that they will then inspect, maintain and repair.” Participants are based either in employers’ workshops, on clients’ premises or in the field, attending classroom sessions for a fortnight every 10 weeks, with a week of theory and a week of practical workshops at either NWSLC’s Harrowbrook Campus or the MIRA Technology Institute.
The ultimate attainment for those following the IPAF roadmap is to become qualified as a Competent Assessed Person (CAP), but those following the roadmap can also stop at any stage once they feel they have fulfilled the required technical knowhow and certifying qualifications they need to fulfil their daily role. “If you can ‘grow your own’ engineers then obviously they’re an asset that grows with the company,” says Whiting. “The more we put through the college, the easier it will be to find and recruit one.” The cost of the apprenticeship is £14,000 for the three years, however funding can be accessed through the Apprenticeship Levy or Levy Transfer Scheme. For a company that pays the Apprenticeship Levy, it’s free. For those that don’t, the employer is expected to put 5% towards the cost of the course, meaning £700. The only other costs are wages, travel and accommodation. And if a company is Construction Industry
13/04/2022 15:37
