DIO Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Scheme

The DIO Apprenticeship Academy offers a wide range of apprenticeships that combine practical work and training to gain valuable experience. Through our apprenticeships you will gain professional knowledge, a recognised qualification and the wider skills required to upskill you and pave the way for your future career.

Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship

Civil Engineers are highly trained professionals responsible for designing, building and maintaining infrastructure including; roads, bridges, railways, buildings, runways, water systems and other vital structures. Civil Engineers use technical knowledge, creative problem solving and project management skills to ensure this infrastructure is safe, sustainable, efficient and built to last. You will work closely with Senior Civil Engineers, Architects, Project Managers, Facilities Managers, Contractors and other Stakeholders across Defence to turn concepts into reality.

For this Apprenticeship we have partnered with The University of Warwick (UoW). This BEng Civil and Infrastructure Engineering Degree Apprenticeship is taught over five years through on-campus face-to-face teaching and virtual learning experiences, with teaching and assessment having blended and integrated work-based learning throughout.

Whilst parts of the degree programme are studied during on-the-job activities, the majority of the teaching will take place during seven, one-week residential blocks, delivered by UoWs academic staff with collaborative teaching support from colleagues in DIO.

The aim is to develop Civil Engineers who are able to provide technical and management input to realise design solutions for complex engineering problems in the Defence estate .

On this 5 year Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship scheme, youll be immersed in the DIO from day one. Fast paced and rewarding, this Apprenticeship will allow you to make your mark on a global organisation, while building connections with talented people across our business.

Upon successful completion, you will have fully satisfied the requirements for registration as an Incorporated Engineerby the relevant professional engineering institution and gain an accredited BEng Civil and Infrastructure Engineeringdegree.

This role will start in July 2026 and the Apprenticeship will start with UoW in September 2026.

From the beginning, youll be given a mentor to provide useful tips and guidance on your work and career whenever you need it. You will also be given a full induction on how the DIO functions as a business, become an integral part of our Apprenticeship Academy, and of course, discover how your role plays a crucial part in driving a culture and community of advancement and continuous improvement.

We will link you up with other Apprentices who you can meet and connect with, give you the opportunity to participate in apprenticeship events and get involved with our many networks such as Race, Gender, LBGT+, Faith and Mental Health to really give you that all-round feeling of the culture in our business.

Person specification

During your time in the Apprenticeship Academy, you will :

• Work towards an accredited BEng (Hons) in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering via UoW
• Be supported by your DIO Line Manager, dedicated Apprenticeship Scheme Manager as well as your UoW Tutors
• Receive the necessary off the job training required for the Apprenticeship through on-site learning at UoW and continuous professional development opportunities within DIO
• Potential opportunity to visit overseas DIO estates
• Infrastructure Facilities Management : Involvement in processes and procedures for the effective management of overseas infrastructure portfolio.
• Project Management : support the project management processes from conception, to design, to delivery and handover.
• Design assurance and compliance : support to established procedures for assurance of designs and compliance of works against legal and MoD requirements, including sustainability.
• Gain real world experience with external contractors / consultants

During your Apprenticeship, well support your technical development through a range of on-the-job experiences, putting what youre learning in the classroom into practice in your day job. Well also support your professional development through a combination of training courses, mentoring and networking opportunities. You will receive one-to-one support throughout your Apprenticeship from your Scheme Manager and Line Manager in DIO, as well as your Tutor and Coaches from the training provider.

Please note that students are required to be 18 years or over at the start of their Apprenticeship.

Qualifications

You must have, or will achieve by July 2026, the following Qualifications / Essential Criteria :

GCSE Maths and English at grades A

Three A-Levels at AAA, to include Mathematics and Physics

BTEC Diploma grade D

BTEC Extended Diploma grade DDD in Engineering including the two Mathematics units, 'Calculus to Solve Engineering Problems' and 'Further Engineering Mathematics.

Behaviours

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

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form :

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 29,580, Ministry of Defence contributes 8,569 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note : Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https : / / www.childcarechoices.gov.uk / .

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on your Managing a Quality Service behaviour. In this instance the remaining elements will be tested at interview.

This role will start in July 2026 and the Apprenticeship will start with UoW in September 2026.

At application stage you will be assessed against the following :

Behaviours :

Experience :

In no more than 500 words :

We are looking for potential and someone who aligns them self to DIOs values to join this specialist area of DIO. Why do you want to be an Apprentice Civil Engineer and what previous experience, skills and personal attributes will you bring to this role?

At interview you will be assessed against thefollowing :

Behaviours :

We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isnt always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months.

Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing 20th October 2025 following advert closure.

Interviews are currently taking place remotely and will be conducted week commencing 27th October 2025.

A minimum of 2 full working days notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

Once all interviews have taken place, we will make provisional offers to the successful candidates in November 2025 and begin your pre-employment checks. Please be aware these checks can take several months to complete, however we will remain in contact throughout the process.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) .

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups :

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Recruitment team

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address : Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address : Civil Service commission, Room G / 8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email : info@csc.gov.uk.

Attachments DIO Candidate Information Guide Opens in new window (pdf, 1963kB) EXTERNAL PACK Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB) Candidate Information updated Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)