DE&S Finance and Accounting Apprenticeship Scheme

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we’re here to provide for the Armed Forces, as they serve our country all over the world. We support those on the front line by providing cutting-edge equipment and technology for land, sea, air and space. We deliver the kit the UK military needs to maintain advantage and stay protected, as they protect life at home and overseas.

You want to be an expert in your field one day. We want to help make it happen. Whichever area you join us in, you’ll discover new talents, pinpoint new ambitions, find a home among a diverse team – and be empowered to turn your gifts into an incredible career. Ready for real investment in your future? We’re developing tomorrow’s talent today. 

What sets DE&S apart is the focus we put on you. We help you find your flair and then plan a flourishing career around what you love. And along the way, you’ll enjoy real rewards for the work you do, with competitive benefits and career progression. As a DE&S apprentice, you’ll find real support to reach your potential – so you can become a leader in your field.

As part of our team, you’ll benefit from plenty of routes for development, access to specialist training and funding for professional qualifications, and a c.27% employer pension contribution. You’ll also have access to a wide range of employee networks, including the Women’s Inclusive Network, Race & Culture Network, Pride Network, Disability Network – and many more.

A range of apprenticeship opportunities have arisen within our forward-thinking Entry Talent Centre of Expertise here at DE&S based at Bristol Abbey Wood.

We are looking for talented, motivated Apprentices to join our Finance and Accounting (F&A) Apprentice Scheme and become our F&A professionals of the future.

Our F&A Apprenticeship Scheme is a three-year development programme focused around finance and accountancy roles across different areas of DE&S. You’ll rotate through several placements within DE&S. You may also have opportunities to work in other finance roles supporting the wider Ministry of Defence (MoD) and front-line commands.

Day to day, your placements will provide you with the opportunity to learn about all aspects of finance and accounting. You’ll gain real experience in: 

• forecasting the future budget

• reviewing and creating accruals

• interpreting financial and business data

• providing financial analysis to support decision making

• involvement in developing costing for business cases

• tracking costs to contracts and ensuring they’re recorded correctly

• using financial systems and business tools

Your hands on experience will be underpinned by MoD and DE&S specific training, as well as study towards achieving Association of Accounting Technician (AAT) qualification (Levels 3 & 4) over a three year period. Training will be delivered by an AAT training provider.

Because of the classification of some of the information related to certain projects, some work-based placements may be open to Sole UK Nationals only.

You will be based at Abbey Wood, Bristol, BS34 8JH

You will be required to attend Abbey Wood regularly, at the request of your Scheme Manager or Placement Supervisor. This attendance will be at your own expense and costs for travel or accommodation will not be reimbursed.

Responsibilities

You’ll be involved in the following: 

• Providing support to F&A staff across the business, this could include assisting with financial reporting, administrative activities, and transactional activities.

• Building and maintaining a network of internal business contacts and peers to share and gain knowledge and identify opportunities to learn and develop.

• Building awareness and understanding of how the F&A function and wider business operates to assist your own development and career progression.

• Undertaking placement activities in accordance with agreed objectives in each placement area. Placement activity may include budgeting, forecasting, inventory accounting, systems management along with other finance-based tasks.

• To be accountable to the Scheme Manager (who ensures successful completion of professional training and completion of placement objectives).

It takes lots of different people and lots of different skill sets to keep the UK Armed Forces fully equipped and well supported. 

To be successful with your application, we are looking for you to demonstrate your potential to succeed in a dynamic working environment. We’re here to help you find your speciality, so we hire for aptitude and train for skills.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are dedicated to creating a great place to work that reflects the diversity of the society we serve. To help us do this, we encourage applications from women, ethnic minorities, disabled people, and people from LGBTQ+ communities. By bringing together different ideas, experiences, and perspectives, we can achieve our ambitions, together. 

You must hold the right to work full time in the UK and qualify for service under the Civil Service Nationality Rules without any additional immigration approvals, at the point of Assessment where we will be conducting our right to work checks. You must be able to supply evidence of this at interview. This must be in place by the time we conduct your pre-employment checks in April and not expire before the start of the scheme. If your right to work will expire while you are in employment, you must be able to reconfirm your right to work before it expires, without sponsorship, in order to maintain your employment.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating staff on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harms associated with second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Tobacco-Free Working Environment (TFWE) programme, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere, unless stated otherwise, in the Defence working environment by 31st December 2022. Those seeking, considering, or accepting employment should be aware of this requirement.

 
Qualifications 

You must have, or be studying to achieve the following qualifications by September 2024:  

Essential requirements:

• Five full GCSEs at A*-C or grades 4-9 (or equivalent) to include Maths (minimum grade B or 5-6) and English Language

Desirable Criteria: 

Relevant experience, demonstrating finance/accounting skills, including through internships or placements would be desirable. 

You are encouraged to apply with your predicted grades. Evidence of the above qualifications will be required as part of your pre-employment checks before a formal offer can be made.

To be eligible for this programme, you will need to:

• Be at least 16-years old at the start of the scheme
• Have the right to work in the UK.
• Have been a resident in the UK/EA/EEA continuously for 3-years before starting the apprenticeship.
• Have left full-time education when the apprenticeship starts.

Please note: If you hold or have studied towards a qualification at the same level or above in the same or a similar subject, please declare this within your CV so we can assess your eligibility.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

Alongside training and development, you’ll receive the following great benefits: 

• • £22,240 Starting Salary – with annual increments. 
  • 25 days holiday a year, plus 1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday. 
  • A market-leading employer pension contribution of around 27 percent, and recognition awards. 
  • Flexible and hybrid working wherever possible, to support your work-life balance (though some attendance to the stated site is required)
  • Use of our on-site gym, restaurant, and cafes. 
  • A huge range of discounts including retail, sports, leisure, restaurants, gifts, days out, holidays, cinema, motoring, insurance, health care, gym memberships, and more. 

Further Information

More information can be found below:

• DE&S Little Book of Big Benefits: https://bit.ly/3FEb54v
• Further Information: https://bit.ly/3K26Xhl
• Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/3yUwcM1

Job contact :

• Name : Rachel Davison
• Email : DESHR-ETCoE-Recruitment@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dbscivpers-engapprentice@mod.gov.uk