Location : Crawley, United Kingdom

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that's why we offer you the flexibility to do what's important to you; whether that's part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

2025 Engineering (Product Support) Apprentice - Level 6 Applied Professional Engineering

Start Date : 01 September 2025

Salary : £22,500 per annum

Employee type : Permanent

Location : Crawley

Working Schedule : 37 hours per week (8 hours Monday - Thursday, 5 hours on a Friday)

Are you passionate about engineering? Do you have an inquisitive mind? Do you want to be part of an Apprentice Programme that will develop and challenge you? Do you want to gain a fulfilling career where no two days will be the same? If so, read on to see what Thales has on offer...

What the role has to offer :

• Earn while you learn
• Job specific training experience
• Industry recognised qualifications
• Permanent role from day one

This exciting apprenticeship will give you the skills and knowledge to become a highly specialised electronics engineer within the Services Competency Centre. The apprenticeship programme will provide a strong understanding and working knowledge of the products and equipment that we support from the design stage through to production, integration, test, and repairs. An integral part of being a Product Support Engineer is to collaborate with the other engineering functions, such as Systems, Software, Hardware, etc. so that we can deliver the best solutions for our customers.

Apprentice Programme

For this apprenticeship you will be enrolled onto the Level 6 Applied Professional Engineering Degree Apprenticeship at Warwick University over a 48 month duration. You will attend lectures on campus for six one week blocks per academic year and will also be given Friday to focus on your studies each week. The rest of the time you will be working within the Services function of the Thales UK business, applying your academic learning into a real life context. You will follow the Electrical / Electronics Technical Support Apprenticeship standard.

Requirements :

Candidates will need a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points at A Level including a grade B in Maths and at least 1 further STEM subject (Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, Electronics).

You will also require 5 GCSEs grade 9-4 (A-C) including English and Maths.

Right to Work in the UK for the duration of the 4 year programme.

Please note that applicants who already hold a relevant degree will not be eligible for this programme.

Benefits

Please note, assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February and May 2025. Induction week for all Graduate and Apprentices will take place from Monday 01 September until Friday 05 September 2025.

Closing date : Our applications will close at 11.59pm on Sunday 16 February 2025 , this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of February 2025 with details of next steps.

Recruitment Process :

For further information on our Early Careers recruitment process or to speak to a member of the Early Careers Team or a Graduate or Apprentice, please visit Thales Future Talent - Connectr .

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years' residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks. As part of the vetting process you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, eligibility to work in the UK, time spent abroad over the last 5 years, as well as employment and / or educational history.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for security clearance please follow this link - https : / / www.gov.uk / government / publications / united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels / national-security-vetting-clearance-levels .

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and / or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!