New BTEC Higher National Certificate in Rail Engineering for first teaching January 2019

Meeting the needs of employers and students

This new qualification has been developed to meet the on-programme requirements of the Higher Apprenticeship Standard for Rail Engineering Advanced Technician, and to provide a recognised training route for students wishing to train as a Track Technician, Overhead Line Engineer, Electrification Engineer, Signalling Technician, Telecommunications Technician, Rolling Stock Engineer or a Rail Systems Technician.

The qualification has been developed in conjunction with key stakeholders, such as higher education institutions, employers, and professional organisations, to provide students with the most relevant content addressing the skills gap faced by employers and ensuring progression opportunities both professionally and academically.

BTEC Higher National programmes are designed in line with the requirements of UK Higher Education, both in terms of content and knowledge and skills demand. Students completing an HNC can build on their achievement by progressing to an HND or to the second year of an undergraduate degree.

How do I deliver from January 2019?

The BTEC Higher National Certificate in Rail Engineering has been designed to integrate with the existing BTEC Higher Nationals in Engineering to allow flexibility and transferability for both students and centres. Both qualifications feature the same core of mandatory learning. Any student studying the core units on an existing HNC in Engineering from September 2018 will be able to transfer across to the new HNC in Rail Engineering qualification following its launch in January 2019 given the alignment of core content.

The new BTEC Higher National Certificate in Rail Engineering contains five pathways: Track, Power, Command and Control, Traction and Rolling Stock and Rail Systems. These pathways have been developed to align with the pathways in the Higher Apprenticeship Standard for Rail Engineering Advanced Technician.

To support your delivery of this new BTEC Higher National, we will provide you with a comprehensive range of free resources and training. We will be making further key information about the new BTEC Higher National Certificate in Rail Engineering available as soon as possible.

Please sign up online here to receive our monthly BTEC newsletter. Alternatively, if you're interested in becoming involved with the redevelopment of the Higher Nationals, please register your interest at highernationals@pearson.com.