SECTOR Engineering & Manufacturing
Engineering & Manufacturing
Make, machine, weld and maintain the things Britain builds.
Manufacturing apprenticeships are the classic 'learn a skill for life' route: precise, technical work with equipment most people never touch. Aerospace, defence, rail, energy and food production all run structured schemes with strong pay progression.
Most start at level 3 and run three to four years, often with a full-time foundation year at a training centre before you go into the plant.
12 Trades in this sector
Aircraft Maintenance Technician
Inspect, service and repair aircraft to airworthiness standards.
- Pay
- £30k–£55k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3 years
Blacksmith
Forge and shape hot metal by hand — architectural ironwork, restoration and bespoke commissions.
- Pay
- £26k–£42k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3 years
Boatbuilder
Build, fit out and repair boats in timber, composite and metal.
- Pay
- £26k–£42k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3 years
Cooper
Build and repair the oak casks that whisky matures in — one of the oldest trades still served by a four-year…
- Pay
- £28k–£45k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 4 years
Engineering Design & Draughtsperson
Turn concepts into the 2D drawings and 3D models that everyone else builds from.
- Pay
- £28k–£46k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3 years
Engineering Fitter
Assemble, install and adjust mechanical assemblies and machinery so they run right.
- Pay
- £32k–£48k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3 years
Machinist / CNC Technician
Produce precision components on lathes, mills and CNC machines to tolerances measured in hundredths of a…
- Pay
- £30k–£46k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3.5 years
Maintenance Engineering Technician
Keep production plant running — mechanical, electrical and control systems, planned and reactive.
- Pay
- £35k–£52k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3.5 years
Metal Fabricator
Cut, form and assemble steel and sheet metal into structures, vessels and components.
- Pay
- £31k–£46k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3.5 years
Rail Engineering Technician
Maintain track, signalling, overhead lines or rolling stock on the railway.
- Pay
- £34k–£52k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 3 years
Welder
Join metal by hand to a standard that can be X-rayed — a skill that travels worldwide and pays for it.
- Pay
- £32k–£55k
- Level
- L2
- Train
- 1.5 years
Wind Turbine Technician
Maintain the turbines powering Britain — offshore and on land. Well paid, in demand, and growing faster than…
- Pay
- £38k–£58k
- Level
- L3
- Train
- 2.5 years