Supervising the installation and servicing of electrical equipment and systems on roads and motorways.
This apprenticeship prepares someone to install, maintain, and fault-find electrical and service infrastructure on the public highway network. That includes street lighting, traffic signals, illuminated signs, and associated underground cabling. Apprentices learn how to work safely on or near live carriageways, interpret technical drawings, select appropriate materials and equipment, and test completed installations to current standards. Health and safety regulation and traffic management procedures form a significant part of the training alongside the practical electrical competencies.
Most working days are spent on site rather than in an office. An apprentice would typically join a small crew to install or inspect street lighting columns, run ducting and draw cables, connect to distribution networks, and carry out planned maintenance or fault response work. They would use test equipment to verify circuits, complete job records and risk assessments, and work within lane closures or traffic management setups. Tasks vary with seasons, weather, and the mix of planned and reactive work on the network.
Completing this standard opens routes into senior technician or supervisor roles within highways electrical contracting. Experienced operatives often progress to site supervision, contracts management, or specialist roles in traffic signal engineering or electrical design. Employers include local authority highways departments, specialist highways electrical contractors, and utilities firms that manage street assets. The public sector and infrastructure maintenance market offer stable long-term demand, with the shift to LED street lighting and smart traffic systems creating ongoing need for qualified operatives.
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Throughout this apprenticeship, the learner works in a highways electrical or services role while building the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of a competent operative. Practical learning happens on site alongside employment, supported by a training provider. Before final assessment can begin, the apprentice must pass a readiness check, commonly called the gateway, where the employer and provider confirm the apprentice is prepared to demonstrate full occupational competence. Final assessment then determines whether that competence has been met. Assessment arrangements for many standards are currently being updated, so check the standard's gov.uk page for the current specification.
Evidence gathered throughout the apprenticeship carries significant weight, so learners should start recording workplace activity early rather than trying to reconstruct it near the end. That means keeping clear records of tasks completed on site, decisions made, and situations handled, including any work involving installation, maintenance, or fault-finding on highways electrical systems. Regular reviews with both the employer and training provider help identify gaps before the gateway, leaving time to address them. Staying organised from the start makes the final stages considerably less pressured.
Look for providers who can demonstrate access to real highways infrastructure environments, whether through employer partnerships with local authorities, Highways England contractors, or utility companies, rather than purely classroom-based delivery. On FATP profiles, an achievement rate above 65% is solid; above 75% is strong for a technically demanding trade standard. Employer satisfaction scores above 80% suggest a provider is genuinely aligned with site operations. Providers who deliver this standard regularly, rather than as a small add-on to a broader construction portfolio, will be better placed to reflect current traffic management requirements and safety regulations.
Be cautious of providers with high learner volumes but a declining or below-average achievement rate, which can suggest overstretching. If a provider cannot clearly explain how apprentices gain hands-on experience with street lighting, signal systems, or ducting in live or realistic site conditions, that is a concern. Vague answers about how off-the-job training maps to actual highways work, or providers who cannot point to alumni now working in operative or electrician roles for councils or contractors, suggest the programme may not be sufficiently grounded in the trade.
There are no nationally mandated entry qualifications, but most employers look for a reasonable grasp of maths and English, typically GCSEs at grade 4 or above, or equivalent. You will also need a full driving licence in many roles, given the nature of site work. Apprentices must be employed by a highways or civil engineering contractor throughout. If English and maths aren't already at Level 2, you will need to achieve that during the apprenticeship.
The typical duration is around 24 months, though this depends on prior experience and how quickly competence is demonstrated. Apprentices are employed full time throughout, learning on the job alongside a structured programme of off-the-job training. The exact minimum duration and off-the-job training requirements are subject to revision under current Skills England reforms. Check the current standard specification on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education pages at gov.uk for the latest requirements.
To complete the apprenticeship, an apprentice must pass through a gateway, where the employer and training provider confirm that the required knowledge, skills and behaviours have been developed. Assessment models for many standards are currently being reviewed under Skills England reforms, so the specific end-point assessment method may change. The current assessment plan is published on gov.uk alongside the standard. In all cases, the apprentice must demonstrate full occupational competence before taking the end-point assessment.
The funding band for this standard is £12,000, which is the maximum the government will contribute towards training and assessment costs. Larger employers with an apprenticeship levy account draw the cost from that fund. Smaller employers without a levy account pay 5 per cent of the training cost, with the government covering the remaining 95 per cent. If you take on an apprentice aged 16 to 18 and your organisation has fewer than 50 employees, the training is fully funded by the government.
Day-to-day work involves installing, maintaining and repairing electrical and mechanical assets on the public highway, including street lighting columns, traffic signals, variable message signs and junction control systems. Apprentices work on live road environments, often in traffic management conditions, reading technical drawings, fault-finding on electrical circuits, and working to health and safety requirements specific to the highways sector. The work is largely outdoor and site based, with tasks varying depending on whether the employer focuses on lighting, signals or wider highways infrastructure.
Completing this Level 3 apprenticeship gives a recognised occupational qualification and opens routes into senior technician or supervisory roles within highways maintenance and construction. Some progress into specialist areas such as intelligent transport systems or traffic signal engineering. Others move into project coordination or site management, often supported by further study at Level 4 or above. Professional registration with relevant bodies such as the ECS (Electrotechnical Certification Scheme) or a relevant engineering institution is a common next step.
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Curated by Alex Lockey, FATP founder and editor. Last reviewed: .
Sources include the apprenticeship's official specification on apprenticeships.gov.uk, Skills England guidance, IfATE archive records, DWP funding bands, and provider data sourced directly from the public Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). Standard reference: 124.
Some sections on this page were drafted with AI assistance from published source data and reviewed by a human editor before publication. See our editorial methodology for how we maintain this content. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.