Apprenticeship Programmes
Apprenticeships We Offer
L3 Team Leader
This programme is designed to develop new and aspiring team leaders / supervisors, providing a practical understanding of the principles of leadership in order to achieve operational targets and KPI’s.
L5 Operations Manager
This program is designed to improve the skills, knowledge and behaviours of operational managers, to enable them to deliver real change and operational success. The apprenticeship develops the ability to lead, motivate and inspire, resulting improved operational performance.
L3 Business Administrator
This apprenticeship is designed to develop administrators with highly transferable set of knowledge, skills and behaviours that can be applied in all sectors. The role will involve working independently and as part of a team and will involve developing, implementing, maintaining and improving administrative services.
L3 Engineering Technician
The Engineering technician apprenticeship combines classroom training with practical workshop activities. This will further develop learning within the workplace across a range of engineering disciplines conducted at NC Group and then further developed in the workplace. You’ll achieve industry recognised qualifications, developing your engineering skills and knowledge to become a time served engineering technician
L3 Science Industry Maintenance Technician
A science industry maintenance technician contributes to the fault free and safe operation of science industry plant by the installation, maintenance, testing and repair of mechanical, electrical equipment and instrumentation. They will be proactive in finding solutions to problems and identifying areas for improving their work environment. As well as core engineering skills, maintenance technicians need to understand and follow working practices that are specific to the safety critical science industry.
L3 Maintenance & Operations Engineetring Technician
A Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician maintains the safety, integrity and effective operation of plant and equipment in all process industries. This apprenticeship programme develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours of apprentices to ensure that they become effective Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technicians by the end of their apprenticeship. Pathways available currently are: Mechanical maintenance technician and Electrical maintenance technician.
L3 Engineering Manufacturing Support Technician
The broad purpose of the engineering and manufacturing support technician is to provide the required level of technical assistance on areas of engineering or manufacturing. They report on processes and procedures using communications software, test analysis tools, measurement systems, offline programming, and quality control. They support production planning, scheduling, product technical applications and capability supporting continuous improvements. They support technical marketing sales and purchasing, product development and innovation. They investigate and review services, producing technical reports and documentation. They carry out inspections or tests to analyse products or services. Engineering and manufacturing support technicians typically work in engineering or manufacturing environments. They may also be required to work outdoors inspecting and testing products and processes.
L4 Engineering Manufacturing Technician
Engineering & Manufacturing technicians provide specialist technical support for engineers, so that organisations can develop, produce or test new and existing products, processes, or procedures to meet a customer specification in terms of quality, cost and delivery, as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Engineering Manufacturing Technicians gather information and data from a range of sources and analyse the information and data. They will make decisions, solve problems and produce and where applicable, update technical documentation, reports or specifications covering areas such as quality, reliability, production schedules and targets, costing or other technical documentation that informs others, either internally or externally what needs to be done such as how a product must be designed, manufactured, tested, modified, maintained, stored, transported, commissioned or decommissioned
L3 Safety Health & Environment
The SHE Technician will be able to work in organisations of varying size and industry; the role could be based in one location or may involve travel across a range of contracts. The Technician will work with the management and delivery team of the organisation to advise on the statutory health, safety and environmental requirements as they affect the company’s operations
L3 Improvment Technician
Improvement Technicians are responsible for delivery and coaching of improvement activity within an area of responsibility, often associated with Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. They can be found across all industry sectors and functions.
Technicians work as a member of an operational team to resolve problems – preventing re-occurrence, engaging others in issues affecting them and to support the improvement of performance.
L4 Improvement Practitioner
Improvement Practitioners use a blend of Lean and Six Sigma, project and change management principles and tools to identify and lead the delivery of change across organisational functions and processes.
Typically, Practitioners lead smaller projects and/or play a key supporting role in a larger programme – tackling issues that may require swift problem solving, or re-occurring challenges that require in-depth analysis and the implementation of a range of effective and sustainable countermeasures. They are the focal point for all stakeholders and responsible for communication throughout a project.
L3 Supply Chain Practitioner (FMCG)
This occupation is found in all organisational sectors and is a system of people, activities, information and resources involved in moving products or services from supplier to customer. Effective and dynamic supply chains are particularly important in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors
Meet the team
Steve Harrison
Lead Practitioner – Engineering
A time-served toolroom machinist with a Masters degree in enterprise management, Steve holds several teaching and assessment qualifications, with 16 years’ experience of engineering curriculum and operational management in ITPs and FE colleges. He has current knowledge and in-depth experience in engineering apprenticeship standards and end-point assessment preparation.
Julie Gorman
Curriculum Lead – Leadership
Julie, who graduated from Northumbria University with first class honours in Post Compulsory Education and Training, has 20 years’ experience within the further and higher education sector. Curriculum lead for NC group since April 2022, she specialises in curriculum development, quality improvement and leadership & management apprenticeships.
John Bayne
Engineering Tutor
With over 40 years’ experience working at local blue-chip companies, John’s roles have included being a time-served maintenance electrician working on high-speed manufacturing equipment, an instrumentation and control engineer working on various PLC/SCADA systems, a project engineer for new capital equipment and upgrades incorporating robotic and vision systems, and an engineering group leader.
Brian Corker
Engineering Tutor
Vastly experienced in the workplace and classroom room, and with specialisms including mechanical engineering, fluid power systems and mechatronics, Brian’s career has included roles as technical apprentice at Smart & Brown Engineering, industrial engineer at Thorn Lighting and plant and process design engineer at DSRM/British Steel. He has then passed his vast knowledge on through lecturing roles at various colleges across the North-East – and now as lead practitioner at NC Group.
Darren Grainger
Engineering Tutor
With over 25 years of experience as a time-served toolmaker and CNC machinist, engineering tutor assessor Darren has honed his skills in the field of engineering. In his previous role as a training and development engineer, he was committed to the importance of apprenticeships. His role at NC Group now allows him to be fully dedicated to moulding the next generation of engineers.
Annemarie Mathias
Maths and English lead
Since moving to the North-East in 1999, Annemarie has worked as a tutor, lecturer, programme manager and area manager in different settings, but always in further education and training. Now an assessor in NC Group’s work-based learning team, she studied and achieved all her teaching qualifications while working full time – but says her greatest achievement was her degree in Post-Compulsory Education and Training, with First Class Honours, at the age of 50.