College to showcase MEWP technician apprenticeship

North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) will hold a virtual meeting in order to showcase the new Lift Truck and Powered Access Apprenticeship to members of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF).

The virtual meeting will be held at 2pm GMT on Tuesday, 24 November, and IPAF members are invited to join to hear in more detail about the new apprenticeship standard. The college plans to induct the first ever intake of powered access-only apprentices in the first quarter of 2021. They will also be offering anyone who wants to see the site and training facilities for themselves to visit during December.

The online meeting will hear from NWSLC’s Katy Urwin, Director of Apprenticeships, John Marvin, Learning and Skills Manager, and Vicki Haslam, Business Engagement Team Leader. Jointly they will give an overview of Powered Access and Lift Truck Apprenticeship training, including how the training is funded and delivered, benefits of bringing apprentices into an organisation, and what services the college provides to support employers. There will be a Q&A session at the end of the meeting.

Richard Whiting, IPAF’s UK Market General Manager, who has led on work to develop IPAF’s Roadmap to Qualified MEWP Technician or Engineer Status, into which the new trailblazer apprenticeship fits, comments: “IPAF’s UK Country Council identified a priority project for us to develop an apprenticeship scheme specific to the powered access sector as part of IPAF’s Roadmap project. 

“It is widely recognised that there is a shortage of qualified engineers in our industry and members were very keen to identify a suitable training route and pipeline of talent that could serve our industry. I’d like to offer thanks to the IPAF members on the project working group that helped develop the standard, which has been approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and is now ready to be delivered.”

Vicki Haslam adds: “North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College is a further education college offering a wide range of full-time, part-time, higher education and apprenticeship programmes based over six campuses in North Warwickshire, South Leicestershire and Coventry.

“The college works with more than 1,000 national, regional and local businesses across a wide range of sectors, including more than 450 organisations operating apprenticeship programmes, and will offer the new T Levels from 2022. The college already supports more than 850 apprentices and consistently achieves high satisfaction rates from its students and employers.”

Peter Douglas, IPAF CEO & MD, says: “I would encourage IPAF members to support this initiative and join the meeting to find out more about the scheme, how it is funded and how employing an apprentice can benefit their business. With old framework apprenticeships now withdrawn, it is important that our members understand what is still available so they can make informed decisions about training up new engineers.

“There is likely to be a significant emphasis placed on apprenticeships in all sectors as the UK seeks to rebuild its economy and jobs market in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, so I urge members considering putting someone through the new apprenticeship to join what will surely be a very informative virtual meeting hosted by North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College. Do please save the date.”

● The meeting will be hosted via Microsoft Teams. To register attendees must fill out the form here and a meeting link will be sent to attendees a few days before the event.