Wouldn’t it be an amazing feat to have been involved in one of the 21st century’s greatest engineering successes? Well, a number of apprentices have had such a chance, as they’ve been able to work on the Heathrow Terminal 5 (T5) expansion project.

The T5 site covers 260ha in its entirety, which is equivalent in size to London’s Hyde Park, and when finished will have the capacity to serve approximately 30m passengers a year making Heathrow Airport comfortably the largest in the world. A £4.5b development, when complete it will be made up of a main terminal building and two satellite buildings.

The project is estimated to tally up an impressive 37m man hours before completion, and with this in mind, some of the larger suppliers and trainers have taken the chance to train a new generation of engineers up on site at one of the biggest projects to grace the UK.

With the terminal planned for completion April 2008, and currently under intensive trial, many of the first wave of apprentices have completed their apprenticeships and have a great amount of on-site experience and qualifications under their belt. These skills will now be able to take them into technical, supervisory or even management positions; if they wanted they could even choose to become entrepreneurs and begin businesses of their own!

Many companies have run apprenticeships since work on the project began, leading to a huge variety of options for those looking to earn while they learn. For example BAA (British Airports Authority) has taken on a small team of apprentices to be trained as maintenance engineers every year since work on T5 began.

“There are currently no apprentices in T5 as maintenance work has not yet been commenced, but hand-overs have been made and new maintenance teams are becoming familiar with the kit. Ex apprentices that have recently completed their training have now been appointed positions within BAA and are part of these hand-over teams,” notes Paul Spence, engineering apprentice manager, BAA.

Those on the apprenticeships are broken into three teams at BAA; the Maintenance team, the Track Transit team and the Baggage and Connection team.

“The maintenance team maintain all electrical/mechanical systems including lighting, heating, customer information systems,” explains Spence. “The track transit team maintain the new passenger transit system in partnership with the manufacturers Bombardier. The system transports passengers from the main terminal building to Satellite 1. Last but not least, the Baggage and Connection team maintain the baggage handling system in partnership with the supplier Vanderlander. The system uses state of the art computer control equipment” he adds.

BAA’s aim has been to train apprentices to become important team members within the company when their training is completed; “We hope that they will not walk away!” enthuses Spence.

The company’s Advanced Apprenticeship scheme is taxing but very rewarding, as it prepares apprentices for complex system maintenance work.

The first of the apprenticeship’s four years is spent full-time at Kingston College, where apprentices complete an NVQ 2 in Performing Engineering Operations, laying down the foundation for electrical/electronic/mechanical maintenance.

From there, the team members obtain a BTEC National Certificate and many go further to gain a Higher National Certificate. This is the academic technical certificate and was specially selected by BAA to be relevant to Operations and Maintenance.

But it’s not all study, as the apprentices obtain their NVQ 3 in Engineering Maintenance on site. Plus the apprenticeships offer significant added value training that is relevant to the particular department. This includes confined space operations, IEE Regulations, programmable controllers, specialised equipment, Electronic access systems and Airbridge maintenance. In addition, the BAA apprenticeship scheme is an IET approved one, which means you are on the fast track to attaining professional development statuses such as EngTech or IEng.  

Carillion is another organisation to have used the T5 project as a great training resource. The Carillion Construction Training Centre was set up by BAA and the LSC (Learning Skills Council), and operated by Carillion, currently employs and trains approximately 150 apprentices, negotiating work placements involving local builders, sub contractors and T5 construction companies.

“They get a lot of on-site training and work to do,” says Carillion’s Keith Donnelly. “It’s mainly fitting out work, involving lots of steel and glass, then building the offices, shops etc themselves.

“At the end of the apprenticeship they come away with an NVQ Level 2 in their chosen traide, a technical certificate, construction award, plus other site-related qualifications and key skills,” he adds.

37 electrical and mechanical engineering apprentices have also got to experience being involved in the creation of T5. Employed by organisations such as AMEC and Crown House Technologies, JTL training has managed their Advanced Apprenticeships, which has lead to some great experience and skills, and sees them walking away with a Level 3 NVQ.

As these apprenticeships, and the T5 project itself is coming to an end, it’s clear to see the benefits of choosing an apprenticeship route into the engineering and technology sector.

But as well as walking away with some great skills and experience at a young age; plus having been paid throughout your ‘education’, apprenticeships can often lead to full-time jobs with the companies that originally took them on.

“All apprentices have to apply for a post at the end of their apprenticeship and may compete with external candidates,” notes Spence, BAA, “however all apprentices successfully completing in the last four years have been successful. Retention is high with many apprentices progressing into management. The current chief engineer is a product of the scheme,” he highlights.

“Some of my apprentices were recently asked what they thought were the benefits of an apprenticeship,” Spence continues. “Many of the apprentices are eligible for direct access to university holding good A level passes. The clear answer was ‘At BAA I get paid to learn’. A technician in their first year of appointment will expect to earn in excess of £30,000 per annum after a maximum of four years training. Starting salary for an apprentice is currently £13,000 per annum. Most people can expect a debt of this size after studying for a degree! Apprentices can progress to a degree whilst in employment if they have the ability and the drive.”

One of the rewards of an apprenticeship is the real sense of having achieved something. Working on a project the scale of T5 means that their work will may outlast their lifetimes, plus the transferable skills can lead to a wide variety of great job options. What a way to start your career!

Case Study

Aaron Ashlin is 17 years old and lives in Ashford, Middlesex. His experience to date has been working with a small team building a home extension. He views working on site on a project the size of T5 as a completely different experience. He’s currently working towards his NVQ Level 2, and although he’s not had much time to consider Level 3 yet, he admits the prospect of supervising a team does appeal. He is one of the first to sign up for the carpentry and joinery Apprenticeship at the Carillion Construction Training Centre.

“I really was the first one through the door,” Aaron says. “Working on site is very different from the work you do at the centre. There is more pressure on you, which is good.” Aaron admits to preferring the practical side of the course to the theoretical aspects but adds: “It’s a career job. So you have to stick with it. You just get your head down and get the work done.”