Engineering operatives make, service and repair machinery and tools across lots of different industries.
Average salary (a year)
£22000.0 to £33000.0 (starter to experienced)
Typical hours (a week)
40.0 to 44.0 a week
You could work
evenings / weekends on shifts
You can get into this job through:
You could take a college course to learn some of the skills needed for this job.
Relevant courses include:
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
You could apply to do an apprenticeship, for example:
Foundation apprenticeship
You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.
If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:
You'll usually need:
no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
You can apply directly for jobs if you have engineering experience. This might be from mechanical servicing and repair, machinery fitting or electrical work.
You'll find more advice on training and working in engineering from the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board and Neon .
You'll need:
You'll need to:
As an engineering operative, you could:
You could work in a factory, in a workshop or on a construction site.
Your working environment may be dusty, hot and noisy.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
With further training, you could become an engineering craftsperson or engineering technician. You could also specialise in a particular type of work, for example:
