NDT apprenticeship

I have been monitoring NDT apprenticeship start figures across England over the last couple of months I am filled with an enormous amount of positivity that the schemes are doing exactly what they were designed to do: provide a structured and professional training programme and develop the next generation of NDT 
professionals.

September saw a record number of new NDT apprenticeship starts across a numberof different industries, including the aerospace, nuclear, general engineering and petrochemical sectors. 25 apprentices started their structured NDT training programme, which is a monthly record since the programme’s inception in 2016, covering a 60/40 split of new starters to upskilling of existing staff. This monthly record is extremely encouraging for the industry, meaning that not only is new blood being brought into the industry to address the skills gap, but when these new individuals are being brought into the NDT industry they have a structured training programme tailor made to their specific industrial requirements, whereby they can gain Level 2 certification in accordance with either ISO 9712 or EN 4179.

Furthermore, this also breathes life into the BINDT membership structure due to the fact that all NDT apprentices have to gain at least Affiliate membership before the end of their 
apprenticeship programme.

Statistics from the Membership, Qualification & Education (MQ&E) Committee outline that Affiliate membership is one of the largest areas of growth within the membership structure and it is my belief that the apprenticeship programme is one of the main drivers of this successful growth pattern. Hopefully, the apprentices with Affiliate membership will go on to gain higher levels of membership within BINDT once they have successfully completed their apprenticeship journey and, even better, go on to be involved within the BINDT committee and working group 
structure. 

To top off a couple of great months for the NDT apprenticeship, October saw a record number of new recruitment requests for NDT apprenticeships. Over 15 new organisations showed expressions of interest in employing a ‘new’ member of staff to fill their NDT apprenticeship vacancy or vacancies. When I saw this level of new requests come in, I decided to reach out to one of the employers to ask why they are looking to recruit in this way. The main topic of the feedback was that they have seen a massive shortage in professionally qualified NDT inspectors so really struggle to recruit and, in addition to that, the NDT apprenticeship allows the organisation to train the new staff members to the works practice and professional standard as well as utilise the government funding available to develop their home-grown 
talent.

I am excited to see if this trend continues over the next six months and beyond and, if it does, I know that our industry is creating a sustainable future abundant with professionally certified and professionally registered NDT professionals.

Please note that the views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent the views of Skills Training UK or BINDT.

Sam Cunningham is with Skills Training UK and is a member of BINDT’s Education & Professional Development Committee, which oversees the development of the NDT apprenticeships.

Employers in England looking to recruit an apprentice can find up-to-date guidance at: www.gov.uk/recruit-apprentice

Details of the current apprenticeship vacancies in England are available at: www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship