The apprenticeship opportunity is intended to help students get training including spacecraft manufacturing and satellite integration in a growing space sector which aims create 30,000 new jobs in the industry over the next decade
Launching early next year, the Space Engineering Technician apprenticeship will help young people gain the technical skills needed for a career in space and follows a collaboration between the UK Space Agency, Airbus and the University of Leicester.
The UK space sector is looking for engineers and technologists who understand the demands that come with working in space, and over the next decade the sector aims to create 30,000 jobs. This new opportunity will offer students, for the first time, the chance to focus on topics like spacecraft manufacturing; building skills in design, problem solving and testing.
Currently, apprentices training in space roles gain qualifications as general apprentices and craft apprentices.
Commenting Dr Nigel Bannister, Associate Professor in the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy, said: “From large multinationals to small enterprises, companies in the UK are at the forefront of the commercial space revolution - it is therefore essential that the right training is offered for future recruits into the industry. The international space sector is undergoing a major transformation as space becomes more accessible, and this new standard enables employers to recruit people with the skills needed to grow their business and ensure their workforce is trained in the latest technologies and techniques.
“For apprentices, it represents a new route into a fantastically exciting sector - one which we are becoming ever more reliant upon in our daily lives. I hope it will also Airbus, which has been employing apprentices in space manufacturing for more than 30 years and has trained more than 120 apprentices over the last nine years using the general standards, can now use the more focused standard to ensure they are training more rigorously for their future workforce."
BAE Systems, Thales Alenia Space UK, Nammo Westcott, Reaction Engines, STFC RAL Space, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and Oxford Space Systems have all announced their support for the process to allow over 900 space sector companies access to the qualification.
The UK space sector is booming and is generating an income of £14.8 billion, employing 42,000 people and supporting a further £300 billion of economic activity through the use of satellite services.
To support more people to take up a high quality apprenticeship the Government is offering all employers £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25, and £1,500 for each newly recruited apprentice aged 25 and over. This includes taking on an apprentice who has been made redundant.
Full details of the apprenticeship scheme can be found by following the link below.
