Trafford College

First MOET apprenticeship completed with distinction at Trafford College

Kye is the first of a cohort of three to complete his MOET apprenticeship with Trafford College and Essity

Kye, a 23-year-old living in Manchester, is the first person to complete a Maintenance Operations Engineering Technician (MOET) standard apprenticeship at Trafford College.

On his end-point assessment, Kye received a Distinction – a mark only 10-12% of apprentices receive, and a great achievement.

The apprenticeship was the result of a collaboration between Trafford College, Essity – a hygiene and health company that was formerly a subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble – and Energy & Utility Skills, who provided the end-point assessment through its Independent Assessment Service (EUIAS).

Trafford College pride themselves on providing career-focused curriculums meeting the skills needs of businesses in the Manchester region, as well as ensuring students develop the skills, attitudes, and behaviours they require for success.

On approaching EUIAS regarding the MOET standard, EUIAS was able to provide a dedicated service delivery co-ordinator to assist with implementing MOET, and to walk Trafford and Essity through the whole process of collecting evidence for and scheduling end point assessments.

Meetings were organised between Trafford College, Essity, and EUIAS to ensure that MOET was the best standard for the apprenticeship they were intending to deliver, and that everyone had an opportunity to align themselves for delivery.

Before the apprenticeship

Kye, after having completed a Level 3 BTEC in general engineering at Runshaw College, started his MOET apprenticeship in 2018 with a paper mill operated by Essity.

Kye said “Essity make toilet rolls and kitchen rolls.

“They’re a paper mill, who actually make the paper from pulp, and then we convert the paper from big mother reels into the toilet rolls you get in the stores.

“I went searching for jobs and apprenticeships. I found Essity, I had seen that they were a good company, I knew a few people that worked there, and MOET was the path I went through with the company itself”.

Ordinarily, a MOET-standard apprenticeship with Essity would have included the BTEC as well – as Kye had already attained a BTEC, the flexibility of the standard allowed for Kye to work towards the Higher National Certificate (HNC) in that time instead, which would ordinarily not have been included.

“That’s the great thing about the MOET standard,” said Ian, who had overseen Kye’s apprenticeship with Trafford College as the Apprenticeship Programme Lead, “you can tailor it to how you want to deliver it as an organisation.

“In Essity’s case, they wanted the Level 2 PEO Performing Engineering Operations, the day release HNC, and you can also incorporate an NVQ, as well as a portfolio of evidence for the EPA at the end of it.

“As a training provider, because there’s a decent amount of flexibility in the MOET criteria, working with Essity we were able to incorporate other learning aims in the MOET standard, which the MOET standard allows us to do.”

Learning and working with Trafford College and Essity

When Kye first started the apprenticeship, he was given responsibility for maintaining certain pieces of machinery in the plant, with help of a supervisor.

Kye said “By the end of the four years, they want you to be able to run a maintenance engineer position, and to slot you into that position.”

The MOET standard usually takes about 36-42 months, but the Essity apprenticeship is closer to 48-60 months – as a result, they are also able to incorporate a Higher National Certificate (HNC) qualification.

As part of his apprenticeship, Kye also worked on some NVQ units, which gave guidance on the health and safety requirements involved in the position.

One of the advantages to the way Kye’s apprenticeship was delivered was that there was a great focus on the practical application of the legislation and theory which was taught in the classrooms.

As an example, the MOET standards don’t just include methods for health and safety – they also detail why they are important, and how they specifically apply to the job in hand.

For the end-point assessment, a timescale was discussed between all three parties (Trafford College, Essity, and EUIAS) in advance, facilitated by EUIAS.

The assessor called Kye up in advance of the assessment itself in order to introduce themselves and to make sure that everything was in order.

A comprehensive end-point assessment specification is available on the EUIAS website, including practice materials and guidance on preparation for the practical observation and technical interview.

EUIAS also offers a practical observation review process, which allows the learning provider and the company to submit their ideas for the practical observation task in advance and providing feedback on whether the task meets the requirements for the standard.

Reflecting on what people had told him about other apprenticeships his friends had been on, Kye said “sometimes when you get trained by a mentor, they’ll tell you to do this, like clean up after your job or put this in this bin, this in that bin, and you won’t get why.

“With the MOET, you’re actually understanding why you do that. You actually know why you’re doing it, and what the purpose is.”

The future

Essity have a clear incentive to provide a good level of training for their apprentices, as their fundamental goal is to look for the future of their workforce.

“With Essity, they give you a lot of responsibility, which is good. It tests you, and it feels like you’re important” said Kye.

“I’m planning on staying with Essity – it’s a good company to work for, I don’t have any plans on leaving at the minute.”

Asked whether he would recommend the MOET apprenticeship to anyone who was on the fence about it, Kye said “It’s very worth it. You get the hands-on experience of doing the job as you’re getting your qualifications. It’s a no-brainer for me”.

The key strength of the MOET standard for Trafford College has been its flexibility, and due to their established relationship with Essity, they have been able to deliver a learning experience tailored to both Kye and the company’s needs.

Ian, the Apprenticeship Programme Lead at Trafford College, said “Kye’s achieved a magnificent result. We wanted to do this case study because, all in all, he’s a success story.

“He’s the first one to go through the MOET standard with Essity, he’s the first one to go through with the engineering team at Trafford College, and there’s other learners at Essity who are due to achieve anytime now.

“We want to show a shining example of what can be achieved with Trafford College, Essity and the MOET standard.”