DE&S Engineering Advanced 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. 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.

The Engineering Advanced Apprenticeship at DE&S offers a wide range of opportunities for professional career development as a Professional Engineer. This three-year Apprenticeship allows you to develop your engineering skills, knowledge, and behaviour in a professional environment. We help you find your flair in the Engineering Profession through a robust and rewarding academic development programme that aims to provide apprentices with the foundation in engineering technical knowledge and skills, before progressing further into the apprenticeship programme. On successful completion of the apprenticeship, we will also help you to become professionally registered at an Engineering Technicians (Eng Tech) status that is recognised internationally by a professional engineering institution.

You’ll embed in specific military domain (Land, Ships and Air) during your placement years, this will allow you to work closely with other civilian engineers, our military personnel and even wider industry partners to understand how Defence Equipment and Support procure, deliver and support our Frontline Command.

You will undertake a comprehensive programme of study, associated with the Level 3 Engineering Technician Standard, on a Three-Year Engineering Advanced Apprenticeship. 

What to expect from each year:

Year 1 – Full-time attendance at a training provider to learn core engineering skills. You’ll study for your EAL Level 2 Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and BTEC Level 3 Award in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering. Our current training provider is Bridgwater and Taunton College.

Years 2 & 3 – You will carry out four six-month Technical-focused placements in different delivery teams at Bristol Abbey Wood, with block release to attend the training provider site to further enhance your academic study with a BTEC Level 4 HNC Engineering in Mechatronics (Electrical and Electronic). 

You’ll also complete a EAL Level 3 Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering – Technical Support Technician (Development Competence) all the way through your work-based placements.

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. 

Some Technical-focused placements may necessitate you working away from Abbey Wood, Bristol. 

You’ll be involved with the following: 
 
•Participating in assigned educational training to develop own capabilities in a defence context. 
 
•Delivering engineering services & technical support against agreed objectives to develop knowledge and experience and add value to the team and wider business. 
 
•Building awareness and understanding of how the DE&S Engineering Function and wider business operates to assist in own development and career progression. 
 
•Seeking opportunities to develop knowledge and experience to progress as an Apprentice to Engineering Technician (Eng Tech) in the time specified. 
 
•Providing support to colleagues in their specialist area and actively contribute to team meetings to help with the work of the team. 

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 English Language, Maths and a Science or Engineering related subject.
 
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. You may also need to complete an initial assessment at College, which will help us guide you to the most appropriate programme to meet your needs.

What to put on your CV:

Please clearly list your qualifications including your results or predicted grades, distinguishing between an English Language or English Literature qualification awarded. 

Your CV will be assessed using a simple numerical scoring system against your Key achievements, Applied knowledge and skills, and Relevant Experience.

Please include on your CV how you meet the essential criteria and highlight your relevant experience and interests to support your application by opening with a personal profile. 

For guidance on writing a CV for DE&S, please click here  

Please note this is a development scheme and candidates with higher level qualifications in Engineering may not be eligible. All vocational and academic qualifications held or in progress must be declared. 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.

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.

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

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

• Technical requirements, evaluation and acceptance.

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