Key Takeaways
- Undertake a 5-year Level 6 Apprenticeship in Manufacturing Engineering, studying towards a BEng in Engineering.
- Earn £24,000 per annum, with potential for performance-related pay uplifts.
- Gain hands-on experience in industrial process engineering at Thales' Templecombe site.
- Applications close on Wednesday 17 February 2027.
- Requires 2 A-Levels (including Maths and a STEM subject) or a BTEC Diploma in Engineering.
About the Role
The Industrial Process Engineering Apprentice role will develop your engineering skills to become a confident, positive and flexible industrial process engineer with well-honed technical knowledge gained from both academic commitments and on-the-job training. You will be part of a team that provides manufacturing solutions in support of our customers’ requirements. This will provide many opportunities to experience the various aspects of engineering such as, defining and optimising manufacturing documentation, tools and workflows for manufacturing, performing manufacturing readiness reviews, contributing to technological innovation to reduce costs and workflows, whilst guaranteeing the feasibility and reproducibility of the process.
What You Will Learn
Throughout the apprenticeship, you will gain experience and knowledge in:
- Develop an understanding of the required behaviours and codes of practice of a professional engineer
- Understanding complex systems by working on different tasks on on-going projects
- Assessing Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) of products by reviewing the product maturity with project teams to identify and minimise risk
- Define, set up, prepare and optimise manufacturing processes and tooling for a defined area or product line
- Contribute to Health, Safety and Environment processes
- Define and optimise manufacturing documentation, tools, workflows for manufacturing and inspection based on the information supplied by upstream R&D engineering departments
- Contribute to technological innovation to reduce costs and workflows, whilst guaranteeing the feasibility and reproducibility of the process
- Attend Material Review Boards and Configuration Control Boards on behalf of manufacturing, actively manage failures and changes
- Implement test & control plans for manufacturing equipment
Apprenticeship Programme
You will study towards a Level 6 Manufacturing Engineer with Yeovil College.
Manufacturing Engineers help take products from design to manufacture, ensuring that they are launched on time, at cost and to the right quality. This programme will provide a strong foundation across mechanical, electrical, digital, materials, product design and advanced manufacturing.
This is a 5-year programme delivered via an in-person delivery model on campus. Over the first 4 years you will attend college on a day release basis to complete your academic studies and will embed your learning in the workplace through your day job. Year 5 will be 100% work-based and will focus on the completion of your End Point Assessment.
At the end of the programme you will have achieved a BEng in Engineering, as well as a Level 6 Manufacturing Engineer Apprenticeship and will roll-off the scheme into an Industrial Process Engineer position in our Underwater Systems business.
Entry Requirements
To apply, you will need:
A Levels
- 2 A Levels
- Grade C or above in Maths
- At least one additional STEM subject.
- Or 90+ Credit BTEC Diploma in Engineering (MM)
GCSEs
- Minimum of 5 GCSEs at Grade 4/C or above
- Must include:
- English Language
- Mathematics
Please note that applicants who already hold a relevant degree will not be eligible for this programme.
Benefits
- Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum
- Performance-related pay uplifts
- Holiday entitlement of 201 hours a year (plus a company day and bank holidays)
- Contributory Company Pension
- Health Care Cash Plan
- Hybrid/flexible working options
- Employee assistance programme
- Learning and development support
- Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives
- Life Cover
- 80 Hours Volunteering per year (first two years)
Recruitment Process
- Apply Online - submit your application online to register your interest.
- Upload Your CV
- Check your emails for the invitation to apply – this will come from recruiting@jobalerts.thalesgroup.com
- Complete Your Application – follow the link provided in the email to complete your application.
- Complete Online Tests - undertake the online assessments.
- Virtual Assessment Centre - candidates who progress will attend a virtual assessment centre.
- Job Offer – successful candidates will receive a job offer.
Assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February - May 2027. Induction week for all Graduate and Apprentices will take place from Monday 6 September - Friday 10 September 2027.
Security Requirements
Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements. To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC). To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years. In addition, this role supports a UK Eyes Only programme and is therefore subject to government-mandated nationality restrictions. Applicants must have been British citizens from birth and must not hold any other nationality.