Higher National Certificate in Manufacturing Maintenance Engineer

This HNC contributes to the important role manufacturing plays for the UK’s, and more specifically Plymouth’s, economies. Locally, manufacturing accounts for nearly 13 per cent of the total economy and a similar proportion of the labour market. Plymouth Manufacturing Group (PMG) members alone have a collective turnover of £1.6bn, which equates to 15.3% of the local economy.

The delivery of the HNC Manufacturing Maintenance Engineer encompasses today’s manufacturing requirements and that of their project and lead staff. The course is in six parts, or modules, covering the key aspects of electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering such as engineering science and maths, electrical and electronic principles and design with CAD. The programme is therefore equipped to provide the manufacturing maintenance engineers of today with the knowledge to understand the principles behind electrical and mechanical systems, design and analyses.

Classroom lecturing is supported by practical workshops using industry-standard hardware and software development environments within the College’s specialist facilities. This will take full advantage of the College’s £13m investment in the state-of-the-art Regional Centre of Excellence for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

A rich range of assessments is employed to immerse students within their learning, not only on the underlying academic principles but also on how they apply in practical, industrial applications. Close links have been established with local industries which drives the development and continuous updating of this course. Combined with continued consideration of wider engineering sectors, this ensures that the attributes and skills exercised by students on this course remain relevant to employment in the manufacturing sector locally, nationally and globally.

Delivery is flexible, aiming to accommodate, as much as is feasible, part-time students who are in full-time employment by utilising a day-release delivery model to ensure that the impact on employment is kept to a minimum.