The Higher National Diploma Manufacturing Engineering for England (Part-time) HTQ

Course Details

This Higher National Diploma Manufacturing Engineering for England course is taught by Bolton College on behalf of the University of Bolton.

This Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering for England, Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ), is designed to develop your knowledge, skills and behaviours across a broad range of engineering technologies essential to manufacturing engineering in this rapidly evolving and dynamic sector of the economy. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) approved the course as meeting the Engineering Manufacturing Technician occupational standard at Level 4 and this is highly regarded by industry. The course has been designed by the industry to support a wide range of manufacturing engineering roles, and aims to help you gain key transferable skills that employers highly value.

Throughout the course, our team of dedicated experts will guide you as you gain knowledge and understanding, as well as practical, professional and subject-specific skills. Initially, your studies will focus on the core knowledge required by manufacturing engineers, such as engineering design, engineering maths, production engineering for manufacture, computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) and industrial robots. You'll then build on this learning with specialist units that concentrate on developing your understanding and skills in the essential areas of manufacturing engineering, including professional engineering management, further mathematics, distributed control systems, industrial systems, manufacturing systems engineering, lean manufacturing, advanced manufacturing technology and sustainability. 

You'll also undertake a professional engineering project, where you'll have the opportunity to develop and apply your knowledge, practical ability and design skills. Overall, we'll support you as you develop cognitive, intellectual and thinking skills and gain valuable key, personal and transferable skills ready for employment or further study. 

Highlights

• The course provides opportunities for you to make progress towards achieving internationally recognised registration with a professional body regulated by the Engineering Council.
• We'll encourage you to undertake a work placement during the summer break – this is recommended but is not a course requirement.
• On successfully completing this programme, you'll be awarded a Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering for England (HTQ) from the University of Bolton.
• Bolton College scores highly in student satisfaction surveys for its HE provision, and we take pride in offering you the opportunity to learn from industry-experienced staff.

Key Features

• This course offers the essential subject knowledge you'll need to progress successfully within or into the world of work or further study.
• Our approach to teaching and learning is student-centred, so we'll work with you on an individual basis, providing tailored help and support throughout your studies.
• You'll have the opportunity to develop and enhance crucial skills such as communication, teamwork, organising and planning, numeracy, problem-solving, flexibility and adaptability, action planning, self-awareness, initiative, personal impact and confidence, environmental sustainability, and social, public and ethical responsibility.
• As a Higher Technical Qualification, the programme has been developed with employers for the industry.

• 48 UCAS points
• Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
• You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
• Entry to this course is also available to applicants who have extensive appropriate work experience in the engineering sector. We'll be delighted to consider your application if you don't possess the academic qualifications listed above, but have extensive appropriate work experience.
• You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 5.5 with no less than 5.5 in reading and writing (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
• If you intend to progress to a top-up degree course at a university after completing this HND, you will usually need GCSE Mathematics and English at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent). If you have not already achieved this, please speak to the course leader about taking GCSE Mathematics and/or English while completing this course.
• If you apply or enrol on this course, Bolton College and the University of Bolton will share the information you provide. You’ll also receive communications from both organisations.
• This course is open to Home students only. Applications from International and EU students cannot usually be accepted because the study location for this course is not licenced by UKVI to sponsor students. Therefore, if you require sponsorship under the Student Visa Route to study in the UK, then, unfortunately, we'll be unable to consider your application for this course. Some EU students are eligible to study this course under the EU Settlement Scheme or Common Travel Area arrangement – for details, please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students. 

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

If you choose to complete our Level 5 HND in Manufacturing Engineering for England, you're likely aiming to go on to employment or progress to a final year at university. We have developed this qualification in close collaboration with experts from professional bodies and businesses to ensure you gain the skills and knowledge you'll need to succeed in the future – whichever route you take.

What can I do with this qualification?

This Higher National Diploma is designed to prepare you for a range of careers in areas such as Senior Technician (Manufacturing Engineering), Senior Technician (Production), Manufacturing Engineering Project Manager, Junior Engineer (Manufacturing) and Junior Engineer (Production).

If you successfully complete this Higher National Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering for England, you'll be able to progress to a higher-level qualification. For instance, you'll be eligible to apply for advanced standing to bachelor's degrees, such as relevant BEng (Hons) programmes at the University of Bolton.

Alternative career options

Diploma holders can also use the qualification to enter a range of other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or further study. Some possibilities include:

• Teaching
• Research and development
• Finance
• Business
• Government and Civil Service
• Military

For valued members of the University of Bolton Group and progressing students, we try to make our application process as simple and as fast as possible.

By selecting the link for your chosen course from the list shown below, you will be taken directly to our online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this, and ensure you upload all supporting documents such as certificates and your personal statement when you apply.

When you are asked to add a contact email address, please ensure you add your college/university email account address as well as your personal address. If you do not add your college address as your contact address, we will be unable to identify you as a partner and offer you the benefits of being part of our group.

If you are ready to apply directly, please select your chosen start date from the list below.

Before applying, please read the entry requirements section of this page.

If your course runs at multiple locations or has various start dates, please be sure to select the correct application link from the list below.

Before beginning your application, you should have the following information to hand:

• Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates

• Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies

• Details of any employment history, including name, address, dates and role

• Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately

• Details including email addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already inputted.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Undergraduate Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk

• Apply online: Bolton College HND Manufacturing Engineering (HTQ) for England STV - 22 September 2025

We look forward to receiving your application and you continuing your academic journey with us!

The varied nature of this Higher National Diploma programme means that we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. To ensure you acquire and develop the appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills, we combine timetabled classes with student-centred and independent learning. You can expect to attend lectures, practical sessions, workshops, tutorials and informal group study sessions. There will also be opportunities to go on site visits to view state-of-the-art projects, and attend guest lectures by specialists from industry, professional bodies or other academic institutions.

There are significant opportunities to spend time with the tutors and technicians during timetabled classes, practical work and tutorials. However, we'll still expect you to devote a significant amount of time to personal study. For example, this time might be spent engaging in general background reading, revisiting practical work, attending technical meetings and lectures provided by professional bodies or working on assignments.

We use a range of assessment methods depending on the learning outcome in question and the type of module content being assessed. You'll have opportunities to test your understanding of subjects informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark or grade. Each module/unit will normally contain at least one piece of practice or 'formative' assessment for which you'll receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental, and any grades/marks you receive for them do not count toward your module/unit mark or grade.

There is formal or 'summative' assessment for each module/unit. Methods include a range of assessments such as exams, essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, and a final year sustainability project. The grades from the formal assessments count towards your module/unit mark or grade.

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.

Gibson Jeremie
Programme Leader, Bolton College
Email: Gibson.Jeremie@boltoncc.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1204 482035

Peter Alstead
Head of Area, Bolton College
Email: Peter.Alstead@boltoncc.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1204 482035