Engineering maintenance technician
Engineering maintenance technicians service and repair equipment in industries like manufacturing, production and transport.
Salary range: £18,000 to £40,000
How to become an engineering maintenance technician
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
University
You could do a foundation degree or higher national diploma in engineering before applying for a job as a trainee technician.
Entry requirements
You’ll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
- 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
More information
- equivalent entry requirements
- student finance for fees and living costs
- university courses and entry requirements
College
You can take a college course, which would teach you some of the skills needed in the job. Relevant courses include:
- Level 2 Certificate in Mechanical Engineering
- Level 2 Certificate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology
- Level 3 Diploma in Equipment Maintenance Engineering
- Level 3 Diploma in Engineering
Entry requirements
You may need:
- 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
More information
Apprenticeship
You could do an engineering technician advanced apprenticeship, which could be used to work in different industries.
You could also do an intermediate or advanced engineering apprenticeship for your particular industry, for example aviation, manufacturing or rail.
Entry requirements
You’ll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More information
Work
You could start as an engineering craftworker and become a technician through on-the-job training.
More information
Further information
You can get more advice about engineering careers through Tomorrow’s Engineers and The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You’ll need:
- the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
- the ability to work well with your hands
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- problem-solving skills
- the ability to work well with others
- physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to work on your own
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
What you’ll do
Day-to-day tasks
In preventative maintenance, your day-to-day duties may include:
- organising routine servicing schedules
- allocating work to a team of fitters
- checking and calibrating instruments to make sure they’re accurate
- fitting new parts as required, or as part of a regular replacement rota
- carrying out quality inspections on jobs
- responding immediately to equipment breakdowns
- fixing faults on site or arranging for replacement equipment to be installed
- keeping production managers informed of progress
- organising teams or individuals to make sure that 24-hour cover is available
Working environment
You could work in a factory, on a construction site or at a manufacturing plant.
Your working environment may be noisy and outdoors some of the time.
You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.
Career path and progression
You could eventually qualify as an engineer in your particular field, like mechanical or electrical engineering.
You could also move into technical sales, maintenance team management and contract management.