Mechanical Maintenance Level 3 Apprenticeship

Mechanical Maintenance Level 3 Apprenticeship

About the apprenticeship:

During the foundation phase of your apprenticeship, you will learn the fundamentals of Mechanical Maintenance. This will act as the building blocks of an interesting career within AWE. Basic skills and knowledge are covered by the Skills Academy where you will start with learning the correct selection and use of hand tools. You will manufacture a range of test pieces to help with your development as a mechanical maintainer, from here you will progress onto carrying out maintenance activities in a simulated environment.

Once this phase has been completed, taking approximately 18 months, you will move to the Consolidation phase. This will see you rotate through our Mechanical Maintenance teams located in the various Technology Centres across both AWE Aldermaston and AWE Burghfield sites. Here you will build upon the skills learned during the Foundation phase, working on a wide range of plant and equipment in a real-world environment.

This role may appeal to you if you enjoy:

• Understanding how mechanical assemblies work
• Understanding how heating, ventilation and cooling systems work
• Understanding the operation and maintenance of rotating plant and equipment
• Problem solving activities
• Being hands on
• Applying engineering principles into real life scenarios

Entry Requirements:

• 5 GCSE’s at grade 4/C or above including Maths and English AND a 5/B in Science
• Applicants must be aged 17 or over as of 31st August 2026 due to security clearance requirements
• You must be a British National to apply for a role with us.
• If you currently hold a Level 3 Diploma in Engineering or similar, you should consider applying for a degree level apprenticeship.

The Benefits:

• A starting salary of £16750 yearly, increasing to £23,500 in Year 2 and annually throughout your apprenticeship — subject to meeting key milestones and performance expectations.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme.
• Generous holiday entitlement of 270 hours a year (inclusive of Bank Holidays) plus every other Friday off.
• Access to employee discounts portal - everyday savings on retail, hospitality and leisure.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services.

Alongside these benefits you will get the opportunity to learn from some of the top leaders in their field whilst helping us to continue to deliver national nuclear security, threat reduction and counter-terrorism solutions.

Location:

Aldermaston/Reading area

Start Date: Tuesday 1st September 2026

Annual leave will not be granted from 1st September until 2nd October 2026 due to mandatory inductions you are required to complete as part of your apprenticeship. Any leave approved after this point will depend on the training provider requirements for your apprenticeship and must be agreed in advance.

Duration:

36 months plus 3 months End Point Assessment

Recruitment Process

This vacancy will close on 11th January 2026, but we review applications as they come in—so we strongly encourage you to apply early.

We want you to shine in your application process which is designed to be fair and transparent. So we've kept it simple with a three-step process.

1. Online application: Apply for one apprenticeship; take your time to explore the options and choose the one that best matches your interests and goals.
2. Online test: If successful, you will be invited to complete our online assessment stage. These include online testing against numerical, verbal, logical and cognitive reasoning tests. Don't be intimidated: practice assessments will be available so you will be fully equipped with the knowledge of what to expect.
3. Virtual assessment: Those successful at testing will be invited to a virtual assessment centre. The Assessment Centres are scheduled for 11th and 16th February 2026. Please note that these dates may be subject to change, but rest assured, we’ll keep all applicants informed throughout the process.

These roles are governed by Health and Safety at Work Regulations and require all candidates to have an Occupational Health pre-employment medical held at AWE which follows the initial selection process.All candidates must be willing and able to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role and be willing and able to work in designated areas.

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants.

Any inclusion information you provide us will be used to encourage and support you through the application process and will be held only for this purpose in accordance with GDPR.

Contact us:

If you have questions during the application process, please reach out to the Early Careers Team at EarlyCareers@awe.co.uk

How to apply

To apply for this role and to find out more, please click on the apply button. Please note that applications may close before the application deadline, so apply early to avoid disappointment.