Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland
Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland are still currently referred to as Modern Apprenticeships. There are two levels of Modern Apprenticeship (MA), both funded through general 'Jobskills Funding' via the Department of Employment & Learning Northern Ireland, presently for 16-24 year olds:
Modern Apprenticeship 1 route - usually lasts for at least two years and trainees work towards a target including National Vocational Qualification Level 2, a trainee framework and Key Skills requirements. Trainees can be employed on non-employed.
Modern Apprenticeship 2 route - usually lasts for three years and includes National Vocational Qualification Level 3, technical certificate, Key Skills and any specific industry requirements. Apprentices must be employed.
All building services engineering apprentices in Northern Ireland are under these Modern Apprenticeship programmes. There is an opportunity for apprentices to move from MA route 1 to MA route 2 if they are successful in gaining the NVQ Level 2 qualification.
There are different levels of apprenticeship for each industry within the sector:
Electrotechnical - exclusively employed status (MA route 2 only)
Heating & Ventilating - MA route 1 trainee status
Refrigeration & Air Conditioning - MA route 1 trainee status
Plumbing - mixture of MA route 1 trainee status and MA route 2 apprentice status
I'm interested - where next?
> Electrotechnical - contact Electrotechnical Training Trust on 028 2565 0750 or visit www.ett.org.uk
> Heating, ventilating, refrigeration, air conditioning and plumbing - contact CITB Northern Ireland on 028 9082 5466 or visit www.citbni.org.uk
