Amazon is the perfect place to start your career in controls and automation engineering. As one of the world’s largest retail companies, we have an unrivalled range of equipment, technologies, and facilities; there are a huge variety of projects you can work on during the apprenticeship. You will be working as part of a wider team so your ability to communicate to stakeholders is important. You will also display a passion for problem solving. Finally, you will need to be able to work independently as well as being able to effectively collaborate as part of a group.
Location | Bristol, Coventry, Dunstable, Tilbury, Mansfield, Gateshead, Durham, Darlington, Warrington, Manchester |
Programme Duration | 4 years |
Qualification & Level | Level 6 Control Technical Support apprenticeship plus a BSc in Controls Engineering and an HNC/D in Electrical/Controls Engineering |
Weekly Working Hours | 40-hour working week which could include weekend and or night shift working. Typical shift patterns are Sunday to Wednesday days or nights and Wednesday to Saturday days or nights. |
Office Type | Classroom and Workshop in the 1st year. Operations warehouse in subsequent years. |
Training Breakdown | You will build your skills over a 48-month period - starting in September - that will include: ·Classroom based training hosted offsite On-the-job training program, delivered by our specialist teams Mentoring from our Automation engineers. Alongside extensive development of your technical skills, you will also grow your abilities in crucial complementary areas like organization, prioritization, data analysis and problem-solving techniques, teamwork, communication, and presentation skills. Year 1 is full time residential (classroom training) at one of our providers’ facilities, this will be in Manchester. As a result, you may be required to travel to the accommodation on a Sunday and to work away from home until Friday each week during term time (costs will be supported by Amazon) this is combined with short periods working at one of our Fulfilment Centres. This will give you a thorough and detailed insight into the work of the RME team as well as the basic skills necessary before working on our equipment. Subsequent years will comprise on-the-job training in a Fulfilment Centre, while concurrently completing academic training towards an HNC Engineering qualification. Not only will you receive invaluable learning, development, and professional experience, you will also gain a number of externally recognized qualifications. In year 4 you will complete a substantial work-based project and attend Salford University on block release to achieve your Bachelor’s Degree in Controls and Automation Engineering. You will graduate into an Automation Engineering position on successful completion of the program, where we will continue your development and growth within the business. |
Required Skills & Qualifications |
You must NOT already have a qualification in a similar subject at the same or higher level than this apprenticeship |
What are the core components of this apprenticeship?
During your apprenticeship, you will acquire valuable skills and knowledge, including:
As an Automation Engineering apprentice, you will gain hands-on experience in working with the equipment and systems in our facilities as well as gaining in-depth knowledge of automation systems including in-depth level programming skills. Academically you will obtain a BSc Degree in Controls Engineering.
What will I learn as I progress through my course?
During the 1st year of the Apprenticeship you will work Monday – Friday at Tameside college in Manchester. You will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of engineering processes during this period. In years 2-3 you will return to an Amazon Fulfilment Centre and work with the engineering teams, on shift as necessary, to gain the knowledge and skills and behaviours required for the apprenticeship. In addition, you will attend the Siemens training centre in Manchester and college on a block-release basis to gain in-depth automation knowledge and complete the required HNC/D qualification. In year 4 of the apprenticeship you will complete a substantial work-based project and attend Salford university to achieve a Bsc (hons) in Controls Engineering.
What qualifications will I gain?
Over the course of the apprenticeship you can expect to achieve the following qualifications:
On completion of the apprenticeship graduates will have the necessary qualifications to obtain IEng. status with either the IET or IMechE.
What are my career prospects after graduating?
On successful graduation from the apprenticeship you can expect to be offered a role as an Automation Engineer at one of our Operations facilities.
- HNC/D in Electrical/Electronic/Controls Engineering
- Bachelor’s Degree in Controls Engineering
- L6 Control Technical Support apprenticeship standard
"From shadowing colleagues at Amazon, and taking on more and more tasks for Amazon, I am able to see how things work in practice, add context to the concepts and help those concepts sink in."
Application Process and Timeline
(Applications open 6th February 2023)
(The start date for this programme is 4th September 2023)