Free job simulation · Automation and controls

PLC programmer job simulation

A PLC programmer job simulation is hands-on practice that puts you in a junior PLC programmer's first weeks. You review a design specification, write the I/O list and a cause and effect matrix, program a simulated bottling line (the hands-on part is done in EDWartens Lab), run a factory acceptance test and handle a late change request. It is practice with real documents, not paid employment.

You join Tarnbrook Controls Ltd (simulated company), a systems integrator in Leeds. A working day takes 30 to 45 minutes. Days 1 to 5 are free, about 3 to 4 hours in all. Premium continues to day 20, about 12 to 15 hours. It is practice, not employment.

Days 1 to 5 are free. You need a free account and no card. Create an account. Or try the 3-minute demo (opens in a new tab), with no account.

Free: 5 days, 3 to 4 hours
A working day: 30 to 45 minutes
Project documents: 9
Certificate, optional: £14.99

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Automation engineer in an olive jacket holding a tablet beside a test rig in a training workshop

The project

You join Tarnbrook Controls Ltd (simulated company)

Tarnbrook Controls Ltd (simulated company) is a systems integrator in Leeds. You help its team deliver a project for Larkfield Drinks Ltd, at Bottling hall, line 2 (project BFL-200).

You are the junior PLC programmer on the control upgrade of bottling line 2 for Larkfield Drinks. The Lead Engineer gives you the client's requirements, a draft design with mistakes in it, a wiring schedule and tickets with acceptance criteria. Over four weeks you write the I/O list, check the design, program counting and level logic, run the factory acceptance test, handle a client change request, meet the faults that only show up on site, and hand over. Some people will ask you to cut corners. The skill is knowing which ones you cannot cut.

What you will do

Review a functional design specification against the client's requirements and find the mistakes
Write an I/O list and a cause and effect matrix from real wiring documents
Program and test counting and level logic, then run and judge a factory acceptance test
Handle a client change request with an impact note and revised documents
Refuse to bypass a safety function and hand the project over with an honest pack

The people you deal with

Lead Engineercompany
Project Managercompany
Electrical Designercompany
Client Project Managerclient
Client Production Supervisorclient
Client Safety Officerclient
Site Supervisorclient
Site Electricianclient

The company, client and site are fictional. The people are fictional too.

Look inside

What the simulator looks like

The workplace, your tickets, the documents and the team chat, as a learner sees them.

Start in the workplace, with the team around you.
Today: the morning email and your tickets for the day.
Work: every ticket, by day, with its status.
A ticket, written the way a colleague would write it.
A project document with its number, revision and status.
Ask a colleague. They are AI colleagues: they help you think, they do not hand out answers.

Screenshots from the simulator. Company, people and data are fictional. Portraits are AI-generated.

Meet the team

The colleagues you work with

You can read their messages and ask them questions. They are AI colleagues with AI-generated portraits, both clearly labelled. They help you think a ticket through; they do not hand out its answer.

MEMarcus ElleryProject ManagerSimulated colleague, company side
NANgozi AdeyemiLead EngineerSimulated colleague, company side
CFCallum FergusonElectrical DesignerSimulated colleague, company side
FCFatima ChoudhuryClient Safety OfficerSimulated colleague, client side
DKDeborah KingsleyClient Project ManagerSimulated colleague, client side
DHDarren HollisClient Production SupervisorSimulated colleague, client side
LILewis IngramSite SupervisorSimulated colleague, client side
GKGary KelsallSite ElectricianSimulated colleague, client side

Fictional people. Portraits are AI-generated.

What you get

What you walk away with

Write the PLC software for a bottling line, from the first query to the handover pack.

Roles to look for

PLC Programmer
Controls Engineer
Automation Engineer
Software Engineer (Industrial Controls)

1379 live openings on the UK jobs board, checked 28 Oct 2026. See the jobs

Your proof

Your work pack, as a PDF and a zip, with your documents, timesheet and skills before and after.
A certificate anyone can verify. Optional, and included in Premium.
An entry on your EDWartens profile under Work experience, marked as a job simulation.
A work record with your skill scores, with Premium.

Free courses that go with it

What you can talk about at interview

You can explain how you turn a URS into queries, an I/O list and a cause and effect matrix.
You can describe how you scaled an analogue level and set the wire-break limit.
In Premium, you can walk through a factory test, a change request and a site fault, and say why you would not link out a guard switch.

Day by day

Your 5 free days, and the project they build

Each working day takes 30 to 45 minutes: clock in, a morning meeting, your tickets, an end-of-day report, clock out. Do a day at a time or several in one sitting. On day 1 your manager checks what you know and plans your learning. Every ticket is checked, and you see the model answer after it.

Bottling line 2 control upgrade

For Larkfield Drinks Ltd (fictional)

Larkfield Drinks is replacing the old relay panel on bottling line 2 with a new PLC, a safety relay and an operator panel. The requirements, the design and the wiring must agree before anything runs. This project takes the software from the first query to handover, with a factory test, a client change and site faults on the way.

In scope for you

Query the URS and review FDS Rev B against it
Write I/O list section B and the cause and effect matrix
Program counting, level and drive logic and prove it at the factory acceptance test
Handle change request CR-01 with an impact note and a revised I/O list
Check the release record and hand over the line 2 pack

You hand over

URS clarification queriesRFI log entries
I/O list, section BI/O list
Cause and effect matrixSafety logic document
FAT results with punch categoriesTest recordPremium
Impact note for a change requestChange controlPremium
Line 2 handover packHandover packPremium

Milestones in the free days

By day 2URS queried and FDS Rev B reviewedBottling line 2 control upgrade
By day 5I/O list, safety logic and first counting and level programs doneBottling line 2 control upgrade

Tickets, day by day

Day 1
2 tickets
- Site induction and project standardsQuiz
- Clarification queries on the URSWriting
Day 2
1 ticket
- Review FDS Rev B against the URSDocument review
Day 3
2 tickets
- I/O list, section BTable
- Scale the bowl level and set the wire-break limitCalculation
Day 4
2 tickets
- Cause and effect matrixTable
- A small favour from the client's supervisorDecision
Day 5
2 tickets
- Count bottles once each and finish the batchHand-in
- Fill the bowl between two levels without running dryHand-in

On day 5 you clock out and your manager does a final review with you, and your work pack is ready: the free days, in about 3 to 4 hours.

Premium: days 6 to 20about 12 to 15 hours with the free days

After day 5 the project goes on with a change request, site work, faults, a handover and a capstone reviewed by an engineer. Your manager also checks in on days 5, 10 and 15, and the final review comes after day 20.

By day 10Drive commissioned, FAT judged, CR-01 handled, I/O list Rev D issuedBottling line 2 control upgrade
By day 15Site faults found, acceptance findings sorted, scan time checkedBottling line 2 control upgrade
By day 20Release record checked and the line 2 handover pack deliveredBottling line 2 control upgrade

See the Premium plan

Day 6
2 tickets
- Commission a variable-speed infeed driveHand-in
- Two engineers, one project fileDecision
Day 7
1 ticket
- FAT results: pass, fail and punch categoriesTable
Day 8
1 ticket
- Impact note for change request CR-01Writing
Day 9
1 ticket
- I/O list Rev D from wiring schedule Rev 3Table
Day 10
1 ticket
- Fire the reject pusher at the right momentHand-in
Day 11
1 ticket
- A sensor of the wrong type on siteHand-in
Day 12
1 ticket
- Loop check the level signal on siteHand-in
Day 13
1 ticket
- A link across the guard switch, for today onlyDecision
Day 14
1 ticket
- Sort the site acceptance findingsTable
Day 15
1 ticket
- Where did the scan time go?Calculation
Day 16
1 ticket
- Check the software release recordDocument review
Day 17
1 ticket
- Operator note: power loss and restartWriting
Day 18
1 ticket
- Capstone: the handover pack for line 2Hand-in
Day 19
1 ticket
- Handover email to the clientWriting
Day 20
1 ticket
- A conversation about your own workViva

Your workplace

Where you work, and with what

You work in a controls integrator's office, workshop and test area: Tarnbrook Controls (simulated company), Design office, panel shop and test rig. It is a 3D room with your colleagues in it.

Hours and rhythm

Days, 08:00 to 16:30, Monday to Friday, with site visits in week three (simulated)

08:15 team stand-up at the whiteboard
08:30 read Ngozi's morning email and your tickets
13:00 queries and review slot with Ngozi
16:00 update your tickets and the query log

You clock in and out of every day. The simulated clock runs faster between events, so a day takes 30 to 45 minutes of real time.

Machines and equipment

Real lab machines stand in the workplace, and the hands-on tickets point to the matching EDWartens Lab exercise. In the UK edition you do the lab exercise yourself, tick a checklist and hand in your notes and figures. It is a self-review hand-in. The lab does not mark you or send us a result.

The lab exercises for this role are listed under Prepare, further down.

Systems and kit

Project ticket tracker (simulated). Each piece of work is a ticket with a number such as BFL-118. You read it, do the work, hand it in and Ngozi reviews it against the standard.

PPE on site: Safety boots, Hi-vis vest, Safety glasses on site and in the panel shop, Ear defenders in the bottling hall.

The 3D workplace of the simulated company in the PLC Programmer job simulation — The simulated workplace you walk around. The company and the people are fictional.

Skills checked

The skills your manager checks

On day 1 you rate yourself on about eight skills for the role, from never done it to could teach it. Your manager then asks two short "show me" questions on the skills you rated highest. The same skills are rated again at the final review, so you see a before and after.

Written communication
Document and revision control
Testing and acceptance
Handover and documentation
PLC programming (ladder)
Safety and safe systems of work
Reading specifications
I/O lists and tag lists

A "How to do this" panel opens on tickets that use a skill you rated low. Where you have shown you know a skill, the help stays folded away, and you can open it any time.

Real documents

The documents you will work with

Each one has a title block with a number, a revision, a status and who prepared, checked and approved it, the way a project document does. You read them, check them and write your own, and what you hand in becomes a controlled document too. Everything is kept in your work pack.

BFL200-URS-001
User Requirement Specification, bottling line 2
Rev AURS
BFL200-HSE-001
Site rules and project standards, one page
Rev 1Site rules
BFL200-LAY-001
Line layout and equipment list
Rev 2Equipment list
BFL200-WIR-001
Field wiring schedule (PLC cabinet)
Rev 2Wiring schedule
BFL200-IOL-001
I/O list, section A (safety, operator and infeed)
Rev CI/O list
BFL200-SWD-001
Software design and coding standard
Rev ASoftware design
BFL200-CEM-001
Cause and effect matrix
Rev ACause and effect
BFL200-FDS-001
Functional design specification, bottling line 2
Rev BFDS
BFL200-RFI-001
Query log (RFI log)
Rev 3RFI log

Documents that arrive in Premiumchange requests, records, handover

BFL200-FAT-001
Factory acceptance test procedure and record
Rev AFATPremium
BFL200-CR-001
Change request CR-01
Rev AChange requestPremium
BFL200-WIR-001
Field wiring schedule, additions for CR-01
Rev 3Wiring schedulePremium
BFL200-FDS-001
Functional design specification, bottling line 2
Rev CFDSPremium
BFL200-CEM-001
Cause and effect matrix, with CR-01
Rev BCause and effectPremium
BFL200-SAT-001
Site acceptance test record, findings list
Rev ASATPremium
BFL200-REL-001
Software release record, v1.12
Rev ARelease recordPremium
BFL200-HOV-001
Handover pack requirements
Rev AHandover indexPremium

Tools

In the industry, and here

Tools in the industry and what you use here
In the industry	Here
PLC programming software (ladder, structured text)	EDWartens Lab's PLC exercises, which stand in for parts of the line
Wiring and panel testing with a meter	EDWartens Lab's panel exercises, with sensors, a drive and a 4 to 20 mA loop
Document control, query log and version control	Numbered, revised documents and an inbox of tickets and emails
Spreadsheets for I/O lists, FAT and SAT sheets	Tables you fill in and have checked

Standards

The standards the work follows

IEC 61131-3
IEC 60204-1
ISO 13849-1

In the UK

The PLC Programmer role in a UK setting

Who employs this kind of engineer: Systems integrators, machine builders and the food and drink, packaging and automotive manufacturers they work for.

Where: Industrial regions such as the North West, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Scotland and the South West have many employers of this kind. This is context, not a statement about vacancies.

UK standards and regulations to know about

IEC 61131-3
The standard for PLC programming languages: ladder, function block diagram and structured text.
BS EN 60204-1
Electrical equipment of machines, including emergency stop and control circuit rules.
BS EN ISO 13849-1
Safety-related parts of control systems and performance levels.
PUWER 1998
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations: equipment must be suitable, maintained and safe to use. HSE guidance L22 explains them.
Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008
The rules for machinery supplied in Great Britain. Check the current marking requirements on gov.uk.

These are named so that you recognise them. A job simulation does not teach them as a qualification, the tasks use simplified data, and you should always read the current edition of anything you rely on.

Your proof, optional

A certificate you can verify

The free days are free. The graded, verifiable certificate is an optional extra, and it is included in Premium.

A graded, verifiable certificate with your score and band
A public verification page and QR code
One-click add to LinkedIn as a licence or certification
Issued by WARTENS LTD. It is a training certificate, not an accredited qualification, and the company is simulated

Optional: £14.99 including VAT, once you pass.

Job simulation certificate: how it works

Sample

Job Simulation Certificate

Your name

completed the PLC Programmer job simulation at Tarnbrook Controls Ltd (simulated company). Your score and band are shown on the real certificate.

Number: EDW-JS-0000
Issued by: WARTENS LTD

Not an accredited qualification. A verification page and QR code are printed on the real certificate.

Premium

Want the full project, reviewed by an engineer?

Premium runs to day 20, about 12 to 15 hours in all, and includes the graded certificate. Your free days carry over, and nothing you did is lost.

£53.99 including VAT, one payment. If you have bought the certificate, you pay £39.00.

See Premium Compare Free and Premium

Working days 6 to 20 (about 12 to 15 hours in all): change requests, site work, faults and handover
A capstone deliverable reviewed by an engineer
An AI viva on your own work
The graded certificate and a work record PDF with your skill scores

Prepare

Free courses and labs that get you ready

Linked from the tickets that need them. You can read them before you start.

Free courses

EDWartens Lab guides

The hands-on tickets point to these lab exercises. You do the exercise, tick the checklist and hand in your notes and figures. In the UK edition that is a self-review, and nothing is marked as passed on the lab's say-so.

A course that goes with this role

Professional Module

A paid course in PLC, HMI and WinCC SCADA programming with Siemens TIA Portal, taught live online by an instructor. It is a separate product: you do not need it to finish the job simulation, and it does not lead to a job. Its certificate is a certificate of completion, not a regulated qualification.

Price: £2,568 including VAT (£2,140 + VAT)
Format: Live online, five days, with self-paced modules after

See the Professional Module

About the PLC Programmer role

Documents a junior PLC programmer writes early on

A PLC job is mostly documents around the code. In this simulation you start from a user requirement specification, a field wiring schedule and a layout, and you build the I/O list and the cause and effect matrix yourself.

You also keep a query log, because every unclear line in a specification should become a written question, not a guess. Later you write an impact note for a change request and update the I/O list to a new revision.

I/O list with addresses, tags and signal types
Cause and effect matrix for the safety and process interlocks
Factory acceptance test record with pass, fail and punch categories
Impact note for the change request, with the documents it touches

IEC 61131-3 in plain words: which language for which job

IEC 61131-3 defines the PLC programming languages, among them ladder diagram, function block diagram and structured text. Ladder is the one most maintenance staff can read at three in the morning, so it is a sound first language for sequences and interlocks.

Structured text suits calculations, scaling and arrays. In the hands-on PLC exercise in EDWartens Lab you work with the logic a real line needs, such as counting bottles once each and filling a bowl between two levels without running it dry, then judge the result against the test criteria.

Vendor software differs, but the ideas carry over: the scan cycle, latching, interlocks and sequences.

The awkward situations the project puts you in

Good PLC programmers are judged on what they do when the plan does not hold. The project includes a client supervisor asking for a small favour, a sensor of the wrong type arriving on site, and a request to put a link across a guard switch just for today.

Each one is a decision with a better and a worse answer, and the model answer explains why. You also check a software release record and write an operator note on power loss and restart, which is where many real handovers are thin.

From simulation to site: what changes on real hardware

A simulation cannot give you the feel of a loose terminal, a noisy signal or a cabinet at forty degrees. Practitioners rightly say simulator work does not replace field time, and this page does not claim it does.

What it does give you is the working habit: read the specification, test against criteria, record faults honestly and refuse unsafe shortcuts. Employers can ask you about those decisions, and you keep the documents as examples. List it as a project or a job simulation, with the simulated company named.

What to learn next

After the I/O list and the first logic, the usual next steps are drives and motor control, panel reading, and an operator screen. The related roles below build on this one: commissioning, SCADA and HMI, and control panel design.

The free courses linked on this page cover reading instrument and wiring documents, motor control and fault finding, so you can fill gaps as tickets expose them.

Keep a short list of gaps as you go. Every ticket you find hard is a topic worth a lesson, and the notes become the honest part of your project write-up.

Keep going

Related job simulations and courses

Content reviewed 19 Oct 2026; the working-day description updated 24 Oct 2026. Practice, not employment.

Questions

Quick answers

Can I get a PLC job without experience?

Entry listings often ask for an electrical or related background, but candidates with coursework, practice on a PLC or simulator and clear project write-ups can still apply. Show a project with an I/O list, a program, a test record and a note on what went wrong and how you fixed it.

What does a junior PLC programmer do in the first month?

Typically they read the functional specification, build or check the I/O list, write and test logic, support factory acceptance testing and record changes. This simulation walks through those steps and adds a late change request.

Which language should I learn first, ladder or structured text?

IEC 61131-3 defines several PLC languages, including ladder diagram and structured text. Start with ladder, since most maintenance staff read it, then add structured text for calculations and arrays.

Can I practise PLC programming without hardware?

Yes. Simulators and soft PLCs let you run logic against a virtual process, and EDWartens Lab runs in the browser with no install. Simulator work does not replace field experience, which is why the simulation records faults and test results honestly.

What PLC projects look good on a CV?

Projects with a written specification, an I/O list, safety interlocks, fault handling and test evidence, such as a conveyor or a tank and pump station. Describe the problem, your approach and the test result, not only the tool name.

What are common PLC interview questions?

Interview guides list what a PLC is, digital and analogue I/O, motor start and stop logic, industrial communication protocols and machinery safety standards. A project where you can explain each decision answers most of them.

Is a job simulation the same as work experience?

No. It is structured practice that shows you can do the tasks. List it under projects or job simulations, with the simulated company named, and not as employment.

Do I need a particular vendor's software?

Employers often name the tool they use, so learn that one when you target a company. The concepts you practise here, such as the scan cycle, interlocks and sequences, transfer between vendors.

What do PLC engineers earn in the UK?

ITJobsWatch, which tracks UK IT-focused vacancies, showed a median salary of £60,000 for 144 PLC engineer adverts as of 21 October 2026. The sample is small and covers IT-focused adverts only, so pay varies widely with sector, region and experience, and graduate or trainee roles are lower. A simulation does not set what you are paid.

Source: ITJobsWatch, PLC Engineer (UK IT vacancies) (opens in a new tab), checked 21 Oct 2026.

Do I need to know a programming language first?

No. The EDWartens Lab exercises teach ladder logic as you go, and the study links on each task point to free lessons. You will do better if you have seen a PLC program before.

Is this a real company and a real project?

No. Tarnbrook Controls and Larkfield Drinks are made-up companies and the project is a simulated one. The documents, standards and situations follow what a junior meets on a real project.

How long does it take?

The free week is about ten hours of work spread over five days. The full Premium edition runs over twenty working days and about thirty to forty hours, at your own pace.

Which PLC brand does it use?

None. The content is vendor-neutral, so what you learn applies to any controller that follows IEC 61131-3.

What do I get at the end?

A work record with your scores by task and skill, which shows on your EDWartens profile under Work experience, marked as a job simulation.

Is the PLC Programmer job simulation free?

Yes, to start. Days 1 to 5 are free. The certificate (£14.99) and the Premium edition (£53.99) are optional, and both prices include VAT.

Does it count as work experience?

No. It is a training project at a simulated company, not employment, an internship or a placement. A job simulation is a realistic training project at a simulated company. It is not employment, an internship or a work placement, and it is not a job offer. Hours are active hours the learner logged on EDWartens UK.

A job simulation is a realistic training project at a simulated company. It is not employment, an internship or a work placement, and it is not a job offer. Hours are active hours the learner logged on EDWartens UK.

Start the PLC Programmer job simulation today

Days 1 to 5 are free, about 3 to 4 hours. No card to start. Practice, not employment.

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A corner of the simulated workplace in the PLC Programmer job simulation

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PLC programmer job simulation

You join Tarnbrook Controls Ltd (simulated company)

What you will do

The people you deal with

What the simulator looks like

The colleagues you work with

What you walk away with

Roles to look for

Your proof

Free courses that go with it

What you can talk about at interview

Your 5 free days, and the project they build

Bottling line 2 control upgrade

In scope for you

You hand over

Milestones in the free days

Tickets, day by day

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20