Fitter
Marking, fitting, assembly and maintenance of mechanical components, machine parts, pipelines and structures to engineering tolerances.
About this trade
A fitter is the backbone of any mechanical workshop. The trade covers bench work and fitting, marking out from drawings, drilling, tapping, grinding, turning and welding operations, the use of precision measuring instruments, and the assembly, alignment and maintenance of machinery.
Trainees learn to work to fine tolerances and to read the engineering drawings that every manufacturing job depends on.
Where this trade can take you
Maintenance fitter and machine assembler in manufacturing; erection and commissioning crews for plants and projects; quality inspection assistant; railway and defence recruitment through technician-grade examinations; apprenticeship under NAPS.
Course structure
As with every trade under the Craftsman Training Scheme, the year is divided between practical work in the trade workshop — which takes the largest share of contact hours — and the supporting subjects:
- Trade Practical — the exercises and jobs that build the skill itself.
- Trade Theory — the principles behind the practical work.
- Workshop Calculation & Science — the arithmetic and applied science the trade depends on.
- Engineering Drawing — reading and preparing the drawings used on the job.
- Employability Skills — communication, workplace behaviour, basic IT and entrepreneurship, as prescribed by DGT.
Trainees are assessed internally through the year and sit the All India Trade Test at the end of each year. The full syllabus for this trade is published by DGT on Bharat Skills.
After the course
Trainees who complete the trade may take up employment directly, register for apprenticeship training under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme — which carries a stipend and counts as recognised experience — or apply for the Crafts Instructor Training Scheme to become an instructor themselves. Many also set up on their own account.