Specific requirements in the Engineering and Manufacturing skill area

This article describes specific requirements that may apply to industry placements in this skill area.

When you get to the detailed preparations for industry placements, you should consider which requirements apply to you, with the school, college or other type of provider you are working with. You should talk to them about any specific compliance obligations on your business.

Health and safety

For some occupational specialisms in engineering, students may require a CSCS trainee card for their industry placement on site. For engineering construction sites, the Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG) Safety Passport is the industry safety card which ensures a basic knowledge of health and safety for all personnel on engineering sites.

Workers must have a valid CCNSG Safety Passport to enter many engineering and construction sites. It would be for the site operator or asset owner to decide on who can gain access. If a CSCS card or CCNSG safety passport is required, your school or college may be able to support the costs.

However, whether a student has a CSCS or CCNSG card or not, it is extremely important that a thorough risk assessment is carried out for each activity and measures put in place to mitigate risks if necessary. A health and safety induction must also be completed. All of these requirements will be standard practice for engineering and manufacturing employers. Further guidance can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.

There are a number of tasks/environments that may not be wise for someone under the age of 18. You will need to consider:

• is the task beyond the student’s physical or psychological capacity? Check the young person is capable of safely lifting weights or is able to remember and follow all instructions.
• does the task involve harmful exposure to substances? If so, you will need to ensure they are legally allowed to carry out the task and exposure limits are understood and adhered to.
• is there a risk of an accident occurring due to the student’s lack of experience?
• are there risks to health from extreme cold, heat, noise or vibration?

If you have a training center or skills hub yourself, or if you have access to one run by another employer or group of employers, your student can spend up to a third of their placement hours in the center learning how to work safely before coming on site.

Insurance

You need to hold up-to-date Employers’ Liability Insurance (ELI) and Public Liability Insurance and you must notify your insurer about placements.

If you don’t have ELI, you need to have it in place before the placement begins and for the full duration of the placement. If your insurer is a member of ABI, or Lloyds, ELI policies already cover placements. Find out more on the Health and Safety Executive's website.

Intellectual property and data security

You may need to offer students additional awareness training and briefings around products, agreements and data security processes that might be in place to protect intellectual property or for security reasons (for example, engineering projects connected with the armed forces/defence or dealing with sensitive or personal data).

You could draw up a confidentiality statement for the student to sign. While such an agreement is not legally binding for a person who is under-18, it could give you peace of mind and affirm to the student how important confidentiality is to your business.

Screening of individuals and security checks may be required in some working environments, and for access to some sites. These will need to be flagged up to the student’s school or college, so that everything is in place before students start their placement. In situations where students do not have proof of identity, their school or college will be able to provide confirmation.

Accessibility

If you host a student with special educational needs or disabilities in an engineering and manufacturing placement, you may need to make reasonable adjustments so that the student has access to the same tasks as their peers. Relevant information about a student’s disability and needs should be shared with you by the school or college, with the student’s consent. You should discuss them and make any necessary arrangements before the industry placement commences, with the support of the school or college.

For example, if you host a student with special educational needs or disabilities in placement, you may need to make sure your equipment is useable by people with impaired vision, motor difficulties,  cognitive impairments or learning disabilities, deafness or impaired hearing.

The legal compliance article gives you more information about your main responsibilities and provides links to detailed guidance and resources.

The content in this article is for information only and does not constitute advice. Suggestions or considerations are offered for you to take into account. It’s your responsibility, supported by your school or college, to comply with any legal duties that you might have.