Engineering maintenance technician - single discipline - Mechanical engineering maintenance technician / Skills England

Key information

Reference: OCC1426C
Date updated: 14/07/2025
Level: 3
Route: Engineering and manufacturing
Regulated occupation: No

Details of the occupational standard

Occupation summary

Engineering maintenance technicians work in a range of industries that use plant, equipment and systems. This includes energy, leisure entertainment, manufacturing, processing, and utilities companies. The working environments vary across the industries.

This is a core and options apprenticeship. An apprentice must be trained and assessed against the core and one option. The options are:

electrical engineering maintenance technician
control and instrumentation engineering maintenance technician
mechanical engineering maintenance technician

Electrical engineering maintenance technicians' work focuses on electrical aspects of plant, equipment and systems. For example, motors, single-phase and three-phase, power supplies, and low voltage or high-voltage electrical distribution.

Control and instrumentation engineering maintenance technicians' work focuses on the control and instrumentation aspects of plant, equipment and systems. For example, programmable logic controllers, flow meters, heat exchangers and safety controls.

Mechanical engineering maintenance technicians' work focuses on mechanical aspects of plant, equipment and systems. For example, actuators, fans, pumps, valves, gearboxes, and pipework.

Engineering maintenance technicians maintain plant, equipment and systems to optimise operation. They conduct planned and preventative maintenance to prevent issues occurring and reactive maintenance when problems occur. For example, responding to breakdowns. They must prepare for and accept jobs, complete work safely to required standards, close the job, and complete work records. They also contribute to continuous improvement activities. They may complete work as part of a team or alone, depending on the task.

Daily, they interact with other maintenance technicians, engineers, and support operatives. They also have contact with other internal and external stakeholders. This may include operations, managers, quality, research and development, and admin staff. They may also have contact with auditors, regulators, and customers undertaking site visits. They typically report to an experienced maintenance engineer.

They must maintain the safe and reliable operation of plant, equipment and systems. Work must comply with any industry specific regulations. Safety is a key priority. They must comply with health, safety, and environmental regulations and procedures, and sustainability practices. They must complete tasks in line with their company’s procedures and timescales. They must also take account of wider business considerations such as cost and service level agreements.

Typical job titles include:

Control and instrumentation craftsperson Control and instrumentation maintenance technician Control, instrumentation and automation technician Electrical craftsperson Electrical maintenance technician Engineering maintenance technician Engineering technician Maintenance and operations engineering technician Maintenance engineering technician Maintenance technician Mechanical craftsperson Mechanical maintenance technician

Core occupation duties

Duty	KSBs
Duty 1 Maintain and promote work site health, safety, and environmental compliance. For example, conduct risk assessments and follow emergency procedures.	K3 K8 K10 K11 K12 K13 K14 K15 K16 K24 K29 K30 K31 S6 S7 S8 S9 S11 S12 S16 S17 S18 S19 S24 B1 B2
Duty 2 Liaise with stakeholders on maintenance work. For example, pre-job briefings, to plan work, to co-ordinate work with other maintenance disciplines, and to provide technical and regulatory advice.	K2 K3 K4 K27 K28 K29 K30 K31 S2 S4 S18 S19 S20 S24 B3 B4
Duty 3 Prepare for engineering maintenance work. For example, organise resources, obtain supplies of consumables, and order parts.	K1 K3 K4 K5 K7 K17 K18 K29 K30 K31 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S13 S16 S18 S19 S24 B3
Duty 4 Review job requirements and accept. For example, accept safe system of work or permit to work.	K3 K29 K30 K31 S18 S19 S24
Duty 5 Ensure work meets regulatory, industry, and company quality standards.	K3 K6 K9 K19 K20 K21 K22 K23 K29 K30 K31 S1 S10 S14 S15 S16 S18 S19 S20 S24
Duty 6 Conduct post job close out. For example, sign-off job, handover engineering plant and equipment.	K3 K29 K30 K31 S18 S19 S24
Duty 7 Complete engineering maintenance records to company requirements. For example, job reports, stock control records, and fault-finding reports.	K3 K12 K17 K25 K29 K30 K31 S13 S18 S19 S21 S22 S23 S24
Duty 8 Contribute to improvement activities. For example, support alternative ways of working to improve safety, reliability, sustainability, reduce cost, or drive efficiency. Complete continued professional development.	K3 K17 K26 K27 K29 K30 K31 K32 S18 S19 S24 S25 S26 B5

Option duties

Mechanical engineering maintenance technician duties

Duty	KSBs
Duty 19 Mechanical. Conduct planned, preventative, and reactive maintenance on mechanical aspects of plant, equipment, and systems.	K61 K62 K63 K64 K65 K66 K67 K68 K69 K70 K71 K72 K73 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S62 S63 S64
Duty 20 Mechanical. Conduct fault diagnosis and problem solving on mechanical aspects of plant, equipment, and systems.	K61 K62 K63 K64 K65 K66 K67 K68 K69 K70 K71 K72 K73 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S62 S63 S64
Duty 21 Mechanical. Remove and replace mechanical plant, equipment, and systems.	K61 K62 K63 K64 K65 K66 K67 K68 K69 K70 K71 K72 K73 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S62 S63 S64
Duty 22 Mechanical. Conduct inspection, examination, and testing of mechanical aspects of plant.	K61 K62 K63 K64 K65 K66 K67 K68 K69 K70 K71 K72 K73 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S62 S63 S64
Duty 23 Mechanical. Manufacture or assemble components for example, bespoke gaskets.	K61 K62 K63 K64 K65 K66 K67 K68 K69 K70 K71 K72 K73 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S62 S63 S64
Duty 24 Mechanical. Ensure availability and performance of mechanical maintenance tools and equipment.	K61 K62 K63 K64 K65 K66 K67 K68 K69 K70 K71 K72 K73 S52 S53 S54 S55 S56 S57 S58 S59 S60 S61 S63 S64

KSBs

Knowledge

Skills

Behaviours

End-point assessment (EPA plan)

Rigorous robust and independent assessment undertaken by an apprentice at the end of training to test that the apprentice can perform in the occupation they have been trained in and can demonstrate the duties, and knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) set out in the occupational standard

End-point assessment organisation (EPAO)

An organisation approved to deliver end-point assessment for a particular apprenticeship standard. EPAOs must be on the register of end-point assessment organisations

Holistic or synoptic

Assessment of an apprentice’s knowledge, skills and behaviours in an integrated way i.e. assessing several KSBs at the same time

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSB)

What is needed to competently undertake the duties required for an occupational standard

Valid

Referred to in relation to assessment methods; fit for purpose

Change request policy

Most changes to an apprenticeship are made as a result of a holistic review of it. We prioritise the need for such reviews based on a range of factors. These include:

the time since the apprenticeship was developed or last reviewed (taking account of its typical duration)
the existence of any known problems with it (e.g. lower than expected starts, low achievement rate, high withdrawal rate, any issues with the availability of training or end-point assessment provision)
whether the apprenticeship is currently subject to a dispensation
the relative significance of the apprenticeship based on how many users it has

The availability of an employer group to support a review and its potential impact on any related technical education product also inform the timing of a review.

Details of apprenticeships that are currently being revised or adjusted are available in our revisions and adjustments status report.

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Engineering maintenance technician - single discipline - Mechanical engineering maintenance technician