2026 Aerospace Manufacturing Machinist Apprentice (Level 3)

Job Description:

The opportunity:

Leonardo offers a range of Apprenticeships across a variety of STEM and business routes, offering paid training, coupled with on the job learning that enables you to gain practical skills, experience and knowledge that sets up the best start to your career. We offer competitive entry salaries and fully support your academic learning through to qualifications, with salary increases as you progress.

We support helping you settle into your new location ensuring you are familiar with the team and have a warm welcome from day 1. There is a member of our Apprentice team at each site, helping you progress, ensuring your study time is protected, enabling access to digital learning as well as opportunities to get involved with the local community and STEM projects, enhance many aspects of each programme.

The Apprenticeship:

Our manufacturing Machining Apprenticeship is suited for those who are interested in the practical (hands-on) elements of engineering. Over the duration of the scheme you will have the opportunity to rotate across a number of placements, using different machines in each area (mainly CNC). You will learn how to set up and operate each one, with the ultimate aim of moving you into a final placement area/machine based on the skills displayed during the apprenticeship.

Over 4 years, you will experience a number of placements across the Transmissions Centre of Excellence, with the ultimate aim of moving you into a final placement area based on business requirements and the skills displayed during the apprenticeship.

The apprenticeship will start with an Induction into Leonardo, followed by a Yeovil College Induction to ensure that apprenticeship requirements and expectations are fully established.

You will combine your time between Yeovil College and work placements at Leonardo Helicopters, increasing your work placements as you move through the years.

Each Apprentice on this route will need to complete an End Point Assessment as defined in the Apprenticeship Standard, this will take place in the final months of the programme.

Throughout the apprenticeship apprentices will be placed in some or all of the following departmental areas within the Transmissions Centre of Excellence:

• Gear Shop: This area manufactures the internal gear components for aircraft gearboxes. The components travel through a number of different processes, each machine would cover a different part of the manufacturing process.
• Machine shop: This area primarily focuses on the manufacture/finishing of Gearbox housing & ancillary components for aircraft gearboxes (i.e. drive shafts, etc.). The work in these areas are completed on various lathes (CNC & conventional lathes) and is highly tolerance critical.

During your apprenticeship, you will:

• Grow your knowledge of an engineering business.
• Develop practical skills in manufacturing and understanding key processes and technologies.
• Support early careers activities - our apprentices have the opportunity to work as STEM ambassadors in schools, colleges and universities

Each Apprentice on this route will need to complete an End Point Assessment as defined in the Apprenticeship Standard, this will take place in the final months of the programme.

The starting salary for this role is £17,850

What we need from you:

Qualifications

You must have (as a minimum) the following qualifications:

• 4 GCSE grades 3 - 9 or grades A*- D or equivalent - Mandatory: English, Maths and Science. There will be a requirement for those without a minimum C/4 in Maths & English to study and achieve a C/4 in both before the end of year 1.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do, key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your wellbeing matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding performance: All employees are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Join in our success: Our annual Employee Stock Ownership Plan provides you the opportunity to own shares in Leonardo.
• Tailored perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits

We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people, communities and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now