The Engineering Council is welcoming this week's announcement by the government of the Trailblazers apprenticeship programme – and, in particular, the new standard, which sees qualifying apprentices receiving professional registration to Engineering Technician (EngTech).
The EngTechNow campaign, first announced by the prime minister in June 2013 and launched on 3 March 2014, aims to create 100,000 badly needed engineering technicians by 2020.
The government EngTechNow guidance states: 'We want to ensure that completing an apprenticeship in future allows an individual to achieve professional registration, in occupations where that is available'.
"The EngTechNow campaign will directly support engineering apprentices and employers engaged in Trailblazers, providing them with information on professional registration," states Jon Prichard, CEO of the Engineering Council.
"At the end of a Trailblazer programme, an engineering apprentice should meet the requirements for professional registration as EngTech," he continues.
"The EngTech post nominals provide employers with the assurance and recognition that an individual has undergone rigorous, independent assessment of their competence, benchmarked at a global level, while also demonstrating their commitment to ... a professional code of conduct."
And he adds: "Companies demonstrating support for professionally registered technicians may find they can attract and retain the best talent."
