Summary The 1st year will be at our own purpose-built training academy with day release to South Downs College. Learing vital engineering skills as well as rotating through different areas across our engineering and operations teams, working on the different technologies and gaining new skills before moving into your placement in years 2 & 3 Wage £17,000 a year Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab) Our Engineering Apprentices will also take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award alongside their apprenticeship programme. Training course Automation and controls engineering technician (level 4) Hours Monday -Thursday, 08:00 - 16:30 and Friday, 08:00 - 15:30. 40 hours a week Start date Tuesday 1 September 2026 Duration 3 years Positions available 5 Work Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience. What you'll do at work As an Engineering Apprentice, you will gain hands-on experience working towards an apprenticeship alongside skilled engineers while studying toward a nationally recognised qualification. This is an exciting opportunity to kick-start a rewarding career in engineering with full support and mentoring. Your first year in the apprenticeship will be undertaken in Harwin’s purpose-built training academy with day release to your nominated training provider. Here you will learn vital hands-on engineering skills as well as spending time rotating through different areas across our engineering and operations teams, working on the different technologies and gaining an array of engineering skills before moving into your placement in years two and three.This apprenticeship is in Electrical Engineering, with roles in Software Automation or Electrical Machine Design. Learn and apply engineering principles related to mechanical or electrical systems. Read and interpret technical drawings, plans, and specifications. Participate in routine inspections, troubleshooting, and repairs of machinery or infrastructure. Support ongoing engineering projects by preparing reports, documentation, and CAD drawings. Attend college/training provider as required and maintain up-to-date coursework. Comply with all health and safety regulations and company policies Where you'll work Fitzherbert Road Farlington Portsmouth PO6 1RT Training Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills. Training provider HAVANT AND SOUTH DOWNS COLLEGE Training course Automation and controls engineering technician (level 4) Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab) What you'll learn Course contents Safety Effective - The ability to work safely in an industrial environment and where required, produce risk assessment and method statement documentation. Be able to apply the principles of functional machinery or process safety including SIL (Safety Integrated Level) and PL (Performance Level) terminology. Engineering documentation - Production and interpretation of a range of technical documentation (device manuals, operating procedures, schematics, fault reports etc), and working with company documentation systems. Project engineering capabilities - Support of installation, commissioning, shut-down, start-up and maintenance, service, or support of a wide range of systems and devices. Diagnostic capabilities - Fault finding, diagnosis, rectification and reporting of automation control systems and controls applications via the utilisation of formal problem solving methods and diagnostic tools or software. Instrumentation configuration and calibration - Set-up, calibrate and commission a wide variety of field level instrumentation that interfaces to automation and control systems Industrial Networks configuration and support - configure, assist commissioning and continued support of industrial network solutions at all hierarchical levels of control system integration using the requisite tools and or software. HMI and SCADA configuration and programming - Make changes to existing systems or implement new configurations. PLC or Robot configuration and programming - Implement complex PLC or Robot program content and configurations to affect changes to increase availability and or efficiency of automation controlled machinery and the ability to configure PLC and or Robot hardware and program a wide variety of PLC’s and or Robot’s. Safety Effective - The ability to work safely in an industrial environment and where required, produce risk assessment and method statement documentation. Be able to apply the principles of functional machinery or process safety including SIL (Safety Integrated Level) and PL (Performance Level) terminology. Engineering documentation - Production and interpretation of a range of technical documentation (device manuals, operating procedures, schematics, fault reports etc), and working with company documentation systems. Project engineering capabilities - Support of installation, commissioning, shut-down, start-up and maintenance, service, or support of a wide range of systems and devices. Diagnostic capabilities - Fault finding, diagnosis, rectification and reporting of automation control systems and controls applications via the utilisation of formal problem solving methods and diagnostic tools or software. Instrumentation configuration and calibration - Set-up, calibrate and commission a wide variety of field level instrumentation that interfaces to automation and control systems Industrial Networks configuration and support - configure, assist commissioning and continued support of industrial network solutions at all hierarchical levels of control system integration using the requisite tools and or software. HMI and SCADA configuration and programming - Make changes to existing systems or implement new configurations. PLC or Robot configuration and programming - Implement complex PLC or Robot program content and configurations to affect changes to increase availability and or efficiency of automation controlled machinery and the ability to configure PLC and or Robot hardware and program a wide variety of PLC’s and or Robot’s. Training schedule As an Apprentice, you will have the opportunity to study the following through this Apprenticeship: Engineering Manufacturing Level 4 Apprenticeship Standard HNC Electronic and Electrical Engineering The day college day release will be held at South Downs College Campus. Requirements Essential qualifications GCSE in: English (grade 5) Maths (grade 7) Desirable qualifications GCSE in: Science (grade 5) A Level in: Engineering (grade C) T Level in: Engineering (grade Pass) BTEC in: Engineering (grade Pass) Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know. Skills Communication skills IT skills Attention to detail Organisation skills Problem solving skills Presentation skills Number skills Analytical skills Logical Team working Creative Initiative Non judgemental Patience About this employer Harwin plc is a Portsmouth based manufacturing company specialising in the innovative design and production of electrical / electronic components. Our products are distributed worldwide through our network of partners in Europe, Asia and the US. We offer a breadth and depth of expertise in such markets as distribution, industrial and instrumentation, medical, military, aerospace, automotive and telecommunications. https://www.harwin.com/ (opens in new tab) Company benefits 25 days holiday plus bank/public hols Additional 3 days off over the festive period Employee Assistance Programme Company pension scheme Company bonus scheme After this apprenticeship Full career progression Ask a question The contact for this apprenticeship is: HAVANT AND SOUTH DOWNS COLLEGE The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000013720.