Examples of suitable work
Suitable employment may be sought in any company provided the business is big enough to require some organisational and administrative structure.
The objective of the first period of practical work is to provide an engineering student with some familiarisation of works, stores, engineering terms, including names of tools and basic workshop equipment, methods of working from drawings and the organization and procedures appropriate to an engineering workplace.
It is emphasised that the work should not be designed to give students the normal skills of tradespeople, but to provide the opportunity for the student to gain an insight into workshop practices and the intangible qualities of leadership and management, which produce good working conditions and high productivity. This would include observation of staff relationships, the need for tea breaks and regular hours, the amount of work achievable by one person in a day, the different skill levels of a sample of the workforce, the organisation structure and skills of the organisation, how they achieve sales and delivery, how much product development and research they do, stores and/or inventory control, workshop layouts, etc.
Examples of suitable employers include: offices of consulting engineers, government, local or regional authorities, engineering or construction contractors, surveying companies, research organisations, registered companies, general taxpaying businesses etc. A PDF version of employment examples is also available on the College of Engineering Resources page.
Each programme has specific requirements regarding the kind of work that can be credited. See the chart below for details (where an 'x' indicates that the type of work is acceptable for that programme).
Creditable work for engineering programmes:
Programme |
Manual | Process Plant Operation |
Suitable Electrical |
Manual Electrical |
Professional | |
| Chemical & Process |
x | x | x | |||
| Civil |
x | x | x | |||
Computer: |
x | x | x | |||
| Electrical and Electronic |
x | x | x | |||
| Forest |
x | x | x | |||
| Mechanical |
x | x | ||||
Mechatronics |
x | x | x | |||
| Natural Resources |
x | x | x |
Definitions of types of work
Mechanical Workshop
Familiarisation with works, stores, engineering terms, including names of tools and basic workshop equipment; the trade skills and techniques used in the fabrication and manufacture of mechanical components; working in close contact with skilled mechanical engineering tradespeople (eg, as a fitters mate involved in plant maintenance, or where they help machine tool operators and tradespeople involved in metal forming, welding or foundry processes). Generally using skills obtained in Workshop Training Course.
Manual
Virtually any employment stated above in an area related to degree studies; civil labouring in the field on engineering construction; survey assistant; manual work in mining, farm or horticulture, forest or food industry. Lab work may qualify if it is routine testing or if it involves gathering information in the field ('getting your hands dirty'). Ensure work is relevant to degree – if in doubt please check with College Office or Departmental Supervisor.
Process Plant Operation (Chemical and Process Engineering students only)
May be as a plant operator or assistant to a plant operator in a process industry where the student may observe the influence of design, construction and operating procedures on the steady state and dynamic behaviour of the plant and on the quality of the product. Lab work may qualify if it is routine process testing or involves gathering information in the field.
Suitable Electrical Work (Elec. & Comp students only)
Any work involving an electrical, electronic, computer or mechanical product or service; or any form of maintenance work or any form of design or system planning, management, Information Technology work or service; does not include retail sales but may include servicing of retail equipment. Work must be performed with a bona fide company, with adequate records of work hours kept. Only in exceptional circumstances will self-employment be acceptable.
Manual Electrical Work (Mechatronics Students only)
Any work involving fabrication, wiring, testing, assembly, maintenance, or design for electrical, electronic, computer, or electromechanical products, service, or systems. Relevant Information Technology work or service (excluding retail sales of products) may be considered, but must be vetted by the Director of Mechatronics Engineering first.
Professional Practice
This employment is carried out after the Second Professional Year. It is more closely associated with that of the professional engineer, using methods of working from drawings and the organisation and procedures appropriate to an engineering work place. Typical examples are: draughting; database creation or consolidation; contract documentation; site investigations; engineering drawing and design of management/ control/distribution systems; laboratory work (other than routine testing); work study; production planning and control; works management; projects involving research & development, investigation, feasibility studies or design; testing and repair of materials and components; troubleshooting; system planning and/or reporting; calibration of instruments; economic study; survey or audit, or any well defined task with a significant engineering content.
Students work under the direction of a professional engineer on engineering tasks appropriate to their degree course. Involves methods of working from drawings and the organisation and procedures appropriate to an engineering workplace. This provides an opportunity for students to apply their academic training in a practical situation, and cannot normally be undertaken before completing the second professional year. Some examples of suitable types of work are:
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