Siemens apprenticeship to deliver 25 Industry 4.0 engineers

The innovative skills solution added a top up year to the four-year Higher Apprenticeship programme, giving participants a BEng (Bachelor of Engineering) in control and automation. This has now become a degree apprenticeship using the new apprentice standards

Co-designed and co-delivered by Siemens and the University of Salford it uses a block delivery model combining academic modules in automation, robotics, and embedded systems, Siemens S7 Certified PLC programmer training and accreditation, and a workplace project to solve a real-world problem.

Since its launch in 2017 an impressive 17 apprentices from across Siemens’ businesses have gained their degrees, with eight on target to graduate this year.

As well as creating a degree apprenticeship, the top-up solution has enabled Siemens to upskill a wide range of engineers at different points in their careers. Seven have achieved a degree to date and four are expected to graduate in 2021.

Jason Phin, training solutions business manager at Siemens, said: “Our ambition was to create a degree programme covering the range of practical skills and technical understanding that is needed in our workforce to fully capitalise on the opportunities of Industry 4.0, while attracting and retaining talent in our business.

“National Apprenticeship Week is the perfect time to celebrate the success of our degree apprenticeship programme and illustrate what can be achieved by collaboration between industry and academia.

“Siemens' degree apprenticeship involves working and studying at the same time so you gain hands-on experience while training, along with a salary, and graduate without tuition fees.

“It's proven itself as a fantastic alternative to young people wishing to explore a different path to university and achieve a degree.”

The academic upgrade is also available to Siemens’ customers and suppliers, both for apprentices, funded by the Apprenticeship Levy, or as a separate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) initiative for non-apprentices.

So far 16 experienced personnel have completed the programme, from businesses such as Amazon, GSK and Muller Dairies, with 11 apprentices and 16 non-apprentices expected to graduate this year.

It means the degree programme is forecast to have upskilled 79 young and experienced engineers.

Siemens www.siemens.co.uk