The National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 5) with strands in Engineering Fabrication, Fire Protection, General and Maintenance Engineering, Mechanical Services, and Precision Engineering is for qualified engineering tradespeople who wish to further develop their technical, business, and overall leadership knowledge and skills and gain a qualification at an advanced trade level.

This qualification prepares trainees for a wide range of roles in the mechanical engineering industry at management and/or advanced technical level, and comprises three sections.

The first section is compulsory and covers skills considered core to all mechanical engineering staff working at an advanced trade level.

The second is an elective section, which allows for a wide choice of applied study in the areas of mechanical engineering, business and management. Trainees can therefore select those standards most appropriate to a particular role, for example: foreman, leading hand, supervisor, technical expert or process champion.

The third section comprises five strands, which reflect the major sectors of work within the mechanical engineering industry. These strands provide flexibility through elective standards which can be chosen to match the range of work available in the trainee''s enterprise.

Typically, the qualification will be gained during the course of an eighteen month part-time training programme.

The qualification must be completed with at least one of the following strands:

The Engineering Fabrication strand is for those employed within the engineering fabrication industries who work with sheets, plates, sections, and pipes to produce a wide variety of metal products, machines, structures and other equipment, by cutting, forming, shaping and assembling components; or who are involved in the manufacture and installation of structural steel components for building and civil engineering projects.

The Fire Protection strand is for those employed within the fire protection industry, whose work may involve the design, installation, commissioning, testing, and servicing of fire protection systems.

The General and Maintenance Engineering strand is for those employed: on engineering maintenance work in enterprises where the emphasis is on maintaining reliable production, possibly in a lean (competitive) manufacturing environment; in contract maintenance work for such enterprises; or in a general engineering workshop.

The Mechanical Services strand is for those employed within the refrigeration, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning industries installing, commissioning, servicing and maintaining: commercial refrigeration and/or air conditioning equipment; industrial single or multi-stage refrigeration systems, or heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems for industrial and office buildings.

The Precision Engineering strand is for those working in the toolmaking and precision machining industries. Enterprises in these industries typically employ sophisticated CNC mills and lathes to produce engineering components to high degrees of measurement tolerance and finish.

This qualification is a progression from the Level 4 national certificates listed in the Special Notes below. The qualification has some credits in common with, and can lead to, the National Diploma in Engineering (Level 6) with strands in Mechanical Engineering, Production Engineering, and Mechanical Services, and with an optional strand in Practical Endorsement [Ref: 0534].

Minimum 12 credits at NCEA Level 2 in each of Maths and Physics and minimum 6 credits NCEA Level 1 English or equivalent and hold a National Certificate Level 4 relevant to chosen strand. Selection Criteria: must attend an interview. Internationals IELTS Score of 6.0 with a minimum score of 5.5 in the written band.