General Engineering Higher Apprenticeship 2027 - Stevenage

Due to the need to attend your MBDA site and the training provider as required for your apprenticeship, applicants need to ensure their home or rental location is appropriate, travel arrangements are manageable and travel time is minimised as required for your role.

The qualification: You will complete an Engineering Manufacturing Technician (level 4) apprenticeship and study for an HNC in Engineering.

Find out more details on the course here: https://www.camre.ac.uk/course/engineering-manufacturing-technician-level-4-apprenticeship-standard/CC4AS4EMT/

Security clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

This role is scheduled to close for applications at midnight on Friday 22nd January 2027 but may close earlier depending on application volumes.

What We Can Offer You

• Fully funded qualification starting September 2027
• Paid travel expenses to and from your place of study
• Annual pay reviews
• Healthcare Cash Plan: provides support with everyday health related costs – including medical, dental, optical, physio and health & wellbeing
• 25 days annual leave (plus holiday purchase) and up to 15 days flexi leave
• Study leave during exam periods

Programme Structure - Your Work at MBDA

• You'll study onsite at Cambridge Regional College (Cambridge) 1 day per week. When not studying you'll be working in Mechanical Engineering (ME) and can expect to be onsite at MBDA for the remainder of the working week.
• As an Engineering Apprentice you will work in an open-plan working environment with state of the art testing and manufacturing facilities and laboratories aimed at aiding your learning and development.
• Our collaborative approach and culture of sharing knowledge will be key to your development. We trust each other to thrive; support one another to learn, and when you join us, you'll bring a different perspective to how we see the future.
• This is a fantastic opportunity for you to join an apprenticeship scheme that has developed winners of some of the most prestigious apprenticeship awards in the UK.
• You'll experience rotational placements over your 4 year scheme. This way of studying allows you to earn academic and nationally recognised qualifications as well as gain hands on learning experience within a professional and friendly workplace.
• At college you'll be learning your basic skills with your remaining time spent on placements, typically lasting three to six months.

Placements within the business include;

• Mechanical Design
• Missile Design incl. Hardware-In-The-Loop
• Manufacturing
• Integration and Systems Validation
• Customer Support
• Environmental Engineering
• Quality
• Procurement
• Drawing Office

We will also help you to achieve Professional qualification through the IMechE, IET or RAeS.

What We're Looking For From You

This role has specific qualification and subject criteria so please make sure you carefully check your eligibility against this criteria before applying otherwise your application will not be considered. If you are currently studying and predicted to meet these requirements by the start date you are welcome to apply.

GCSEs:

• GCSE Maths at Grade 5 minimum
• GCSE English Language at Grade 4 minimum
• An additional 3 GCSE's at Grade 4 minimum to include a Science or Technology subject

After GCSEs:

Following your GCSE's you must have completed one of the following qualification routes, equivalent to a minimum of 96 UCAS Tariff points:

• A level: Three A levels with a minimum of 96 UCAS Tariff points, including A level Mathematics, with no individual grade below C.
• BTEC: A single Level 3 Extended Diploma in Engineering at MMM or above, including a Distinction in Further Maths module.
• T level: T Level in Engineering with a minimum Merit grade.

Please note: We look at entry criteria based on your top three full A Levels or equivalent qualifications (BTEC/T Level). We do not include UCAS points gained from an Extended Project Qualification. Additionally, as an employer we set our own entry criteria based on the requirements of this role. This means that the criteria above may differ from the university.

Information

You’ll be able to choose between a variety of online learning platforms such as Percipio, YouLearn, Career Builder and Video Gateway. Each one is tailored to a specific type of learning. Speak to your line manager to find out more.

We encourage new learning and will provide up to £150 in financial support per year if you wish to participate in further study in your own time. You’ll have access to our Learning Gateway, which hosts the formal course catalogue and is where you can select the right training for your role and future development. The catalogue displays which courses are being delivered virtually or are classroom based. If you want to lead a team, you might be interested in our management training, designed for people of all experience levels.

The way we work is changing and your schedule will reflect that. For non-executive employees, we have a flexi-time scheme that allows you to choose, within certain parameters, when you start and finish each day and how you can use time you have accrued. If you have worked the time, you are also able to accrue and take up to 15 days of Flexi-leave per annum, in addition to the 25 days of annual leave provided and bank holidays.

All employees at MBDA are required to hold UK Security or BPSS Clearance.

For further information, please view our Security & Vetting page.

Our company:

Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information

Application Process

1. Submit an application: Our application form contains a few factual questions, some questions relating to the role you have applied for and a section for you to tell us all about you!

2. Online assessment - Part One: Next in our process is part one of our online strengths assessment, completely tailored to our business and early careers schemes. After completing our assessment you'll receive a personalised report.

3. Online assessment - Part Two: Part two of our online assessments include three video recorded tasks which are authentic work scenario based activities which you could be doing on your programme - we refer to these as job simulations.

4. Assessment centre: Our strength based assessment centre is a half day virtual experience! You’ll get to work on a range of tasks, meet current programme members and people from the department you have applied for. All candidates receive feedback on their performance.

5. Offer: We’ll call you within a week of your assessment day to talk through your feedback and the finer details of your offer, as well as next steps.

Before continuing your application, please note that as a defence industry employer, restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work will apply.

If you do not meet the necessary requirements, any application you submit will be rejected.

We only recommend continuing your application if you are confident of your right to work for us.

Please refer to our Security & Vetting policy for further information.

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.