Engineering maintenance fitters service and repair industrial machinery and equipment in a range of fields including transport, manufacturing, aerospace and power. They work in factories and workshops on mechanical, electrical, electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic and computerised systems to guard against the failure of components, so avoiding production delays or shut-down.

Their work falls into one of two areas – emergency maintenance and planned or preventitive maintenance.

Planned or preventative maintenance involves:

• making scheduled checks on machinery and parts, diagnosing and fixing faults, and recalibrating instruments where necessary
• regular maintenance work, such as oiling, cleaning and identifying parts requiring minor refurbishment
• carrying out scheduled replacement of parts that have reached the limit of their working life.

Emergency maintenance can include:

• responding immediately to unplanned failure of machinery
• fixing faults on site or arranging for replacement machinery to be installed.

Fitters use manufacturer's technical manuals and diagrams to help locate faults, and use a range of testing equipment and tools, including welding equipment, to deal with the problems.

Engineering fitters work closely with engineering technicians and shift managers. See the profile for Engineering Maintenance Technician for details.

Hours and Environment

Most maintenance fitters work 37 to 39 hours, five days a week. Shiftwork and overtime are common. Fitters are often on-call to deal with emergencies.

As a fitter, you work indoors in a factory or production plant, or outdoors in all weathers, for example, repairing equipment on a building site. You normally wear protective clothing, including overalls, hats and safety shoes or boots.

Skills and Interests

To be a maintenance fitter, you need:

• good practical skills
• good problem solving skills
• the ability to interpret technical manuals and engineering diagrams
• good communication skills
• the ability to work quickly, under pressure and to deadlines
• the ability to work on your own or as part of a team
• good eyesight and normal colour vision
• a knowledge of health and safety issues.

Entry

You may be able to enter this field as an apprentice in engineering. Funding for apprenticeships is available for 16-24 year olds and some over-25s. To find out more, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk. For information about apprenticeships in other parts of the UK, see Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To get on to an apprenticeship, you may need some GCSEs (A-E)/S grades (1-5) in subjects such as English, maths, science and technology or engineering.

You can also take qualifications like the BTEC Certificate and Diploma in Operations and Maintenance Engineering, or Manufacturing Engineering. These can be useful for getting into this role. These courses are open to all age groups and available at local colleges. Check with them for more details.

You can find more details about relevant courses in the profiles for mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering technician in the Engineering job family.

For general information about engineering as a career, contact SEMTA and Women into Science and Engineering. The Engineering Training Council (Northern Ireland) also has careers information and a course database for local colleges. See their websites in Further Information.

Training

Once you are working, you can do further training on the job. There is a wide range of work-based training available. The exact pathway you take will depend on the type of work you carry out. Some options include the following NVQs/SVQs:

• Engineering Maintenance and Installation Level 2
• Process Engineering Maintenance levels 2 and 3
• Engineering Technology Maintenance levels 2 and 3
• Engineering Maintenance Level 3
• Maintaining Plant and Systems (Instrument and Control, Mechanical and Electrical) Level 3.

For more training options, see the job profiles for mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering technician.

Opportunities

There is a steady demand for experienced fitters all over the country, with the largest concentration of jobs found in the West Midlands. The main employers are engineering, production and manufacturing companies. There may be some opportunities to work abroad on contracts for multinational companies, particularly in EU countries, the USA, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

As a maintenance fitter, you can work for large companies on their own premises or for equipment suppliers, carrying out contract work on site. With experience and further training, you can progress to supervisory posts or technician roles. See the job profiles covering technician jobs.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Starting salaries are between £15,000 and £19,000.
Experienced fitters can earn between £20,000 and £27,000.
Senior fitters with additional responsibilities may earn up to £33,000.

Further information

Interpoint
20-24 York Street
Belfast
BT15 1AQ
Tel: 028 9032 9878 6th Floor
10 Maltravers Street
London
WC2R 3ER
Tel: 020 7557 6426 14 Upton Road
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD18 0JT
Tel: 0800 282 167