Pickerings Lifts has helped create a brand new apprenticeship standard that will revolutionise the future training of lift and escalator engineers.

The ‘Level 3 Lift and Escalator Electromechanic Apprenticeship Standard’ was approved for delivery by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and is the result of a trailblazer group which included Pickerings Lifts, the Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA) and several other companies in the lift and escalator industry.

Rachel Swales, HR and Training Officer at Pickerings Lifts, attended the trailblazer group on behalf of the company.

The group worked with the Institute for Apprentices and Technical Education to create a new apprenticeship training route, bespoke to the needs of the lift and escalator industry. The standard will be available to those who want to specialise in lift/escalator servicing, repair or maintenance, or lift/escalator installation.

Not only will the standard include on-programme training, with the apprentices learning on-the-job with qualified engineers, but there will also be an end-point assessment consisting of a multiple choice test, a presentation and a verbal discussion with an assessor, ensuring thorough, well-developed knowledge as well as a methodical approach to health and safety.

After the three year apprenticeship, each apprentice will successfully gain an NVQ Level 3 qualification, enabling them to safely service or install lifts, escalators or moving walkways in line with BS 7255 (code of practice for safe working on lifts).

It is expected that after the first three years, 200 to 300 apprentices will enrol onto the apprenticeship each year.

Rachel Swales said: “The standard has taken three years of development and discussion, however the advantages it will bring to the lift and escalator industry will be tremendous.

“We now have an industry-specific apprenticeship that will meet the needs of our business when succession planning.

“This new standard will ensure thorough, high quality apprenticeship training resulting in well-trained engineers with solid foundations set for a successful career in the lift industry,

“We are now working with local colleges and schools to promote the new standard and are looking forward to welcoming the first apprentices very soon.”

For more information about the standard visit: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/lift-and-escalator-electromechanic/