Instrumentation

Instrumentation L6
Do you love subjects like maths, physics and chemistry? Are you accurate with measurements and numbers? An apprenticeship in instrumentation could be right for you.

On completion of this four-year apprenticeship, you will become a fully qualified instrumentation craftsperson, with a QQI Level 6 Advanced Certificate Craft – Instrumentation.

You may then choose to work as an instrumentation craftsperson in industries such as chemicals, food processing, textile, pharmaceuticals, power generation and local authorities.

Many apprentices use their qualification as a platform to launch careers such as engineers, managers, owners of businesses, teachers and instructors.

Working as an instrumentation craftsperson, you will be responsible for the maintenance and repair of all instruments used in the measurement and control of process variables. The measurement and control enables products to be produced to specification.

You will carry out installation, maintenance and calibration of measuring instruments and systems associated with the measurement, control and protection of physical quantities.

To become an apprentice in Ireland you must be hired by an employer. Apprenticeship employers are formally approved by SOLAS in advance of employing apprentices. Apprentices get a formal contract of employment as part of their apprenticeship.

To find an apprenticeship, you can search apprenticeship vacancies on the Apprenticeship Jobs page. You can search for vacancies by location and by apprenticeship.

Your local Education and Training Board may hold details of employers seeking to employ an apprentice.

Full eligibility criteria for this apprenticeship are available in the Instrumentation Apprenticeship brochure.

Please note: To become an instrumentation apprentice you must pass the Ishihara Colour Vision Test (24 Plate Edition). For further information, contact your local Education and Training Board.

As an apprentice, you earn while you learn.

Employment Salary (On-the-job)
The employer pays you a salary while you are being trained on-the-job. The rate of pay is agreed between you and your employer.

Training Allowance (Off-the-job)
A training allowance is paid by the local Education and Training Board (ETB) while you are attending the off-the-job training. In some cases, a contribution towards travel or accommodation costs may be paid.

The sector the apprentice's employer is engaged in will determine the allowance payable. These allowances are calculated on the gross wages paid by industry in each sector. The weekly gross wage norms for different industries are listed below.

Apprentices complete two of their three phases of off-the-job training in a higher education institution. A student contribution must be paid for this part of the training.

The amount of the student contribution is a proportion of the annual student contribution paid by students who are attending a full-time course in higher education. The student contribution is paid directly to the higher education institution.

The student contribution for this apprenticeship is €1,000 for Phase 4 and €1,000 for Phase 6.

By the end of your training, you will be able to:

Install, maintain and calibrate process measurement and control equipment

Install and maintain protection and safety shut-down systems in the process industry

Install and maintain first-up systems; shut down systems; analytical instrumentation; telemetry; weighing systems; vibration monitoring; data and scada systems and information gathering and logging systems

Keep accurate records of all calibrations for reports

Work with electricity and electronics

Use mathematics to solve technical or scientific problems

Work on machines and processes.

https://www.apprenticeship.ie