2027 Manufacturing Apprentice - Level 3 Apprenticeship in Engineering NI (Level 2 en-route)

Thales Group; Belfast City District; Presencial; GBP 20.000 - 28.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Competitive salary

Holiday entitlement 201 hours/year

Contributory pension

Health care cash plan

Employee assistance programme

Learning and development support

Employee discounts and wellbeing

Life Cover

Volunteer time

Descripción de la vacante

Thales Belfast is offering a 3-year Manufacturing Apprentice position starting September 6, 2027, with a Level 2/3 engineering pathway. You will earn £24,000 per year while training on high-precision production lines and gaining hands-on experience.

The programme includes structured college study, rotations in Year 1, and a Year 3 specialism in assembly. Applicants must be NI residents for 5 years and meet GCSE requirements. A permanent UK work right and security checks are required.

Formación

• 5 GCSEs grade 9-4 (A-C) including English and Maths.
• Applicants must have been resident in Northern Ireland for the past 5 years.
• To be eligible, must have permanent right to work in the UK and be able to complete BPSS/SC security checks.

Responsabilidades

• Work on high-precision production lines and support the delivery of components and assemblies.
• Year 1 involves rotations across manufacturing operations to build foundational skills.
• Year 3 offers a specialism in mechanical, electrical, or mechatronic assembly and deeper trade expertise.

Educación

5 GCSEs grade 9-4 including English and Maths

Descripción del empleo

Location: Belfast, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

2027 Manufacturing Apprentice - Level 3 Apprenticeship in Engineering NI (Level 2 en-route)

Start Date: 6 September 2027

Salary: £24,000 per annum

Employee type: Permanent

Location: Belfast (applicants must have been resident in Northern Ireland for the past 5 years)

Working hours (37 hours per week):

Year 1: 4.5-day week

• Mon-Thu: 07:00-15:45 (8.25 hours per day)
• Friday: 08:00-12:00

Years 2 & 3: 4-day week

• Mon-Thu: 07:00-16:45 (9.25 hours per day)

Turn your curiosity into a career. If you're passionate about manufacturing or engineering, eager to learn, and looking for an apprenticeship that combines structured training with hands‑on experience at Thales, we'd love to hear from you.

This apprenticeship is a great fit if you're serious about committing to learning and development. You'll need to be a self-starter who can manage your time, show initiative, and has a genuine interest in manufacturing and in Thales. Successful candidates will demonstrate self-discipline and a strong desire to achieve the qualification.

Benefits of the programme:

• Earn a salary while studying for your apprenticeship
• Gain hands‑on experience in a real engineering environment
• Receive job‑specific training and support for personal development
• Achieve a recognised engineering qualification
• Tuition fees for approved training providers are fully covered
• Secure a permanent role from the start of your apprenticeship
• Ongoing guidance and support from a dedicated Future Talent Manager

About the Role:

As a Manufacturing Apprentice at Thales Belfast, you will work on our high‑precision production lines, supporting the delivery of high-quality components and assemblies that meet customer requirements. You'll learn how to perform to production standards, contribute to efficient manufacturing, and develop the skills needed to perform safely and effectively in a fast‑moving engineering environment.

During the 3-year apprenticeship, you will complete:

• Year 1: Rotations across manufacturing operations, spending time in different manufacturing areas to build the foundations needed to achieve performance requirements for component and assembly production. This will be aligned to the required quality standards and the master production schedule.
• Year 2: 2 x six‑month rotations across manufacturing.
• Year 3: A one‑year specialism, building deeper expertise in your chosen trade specialism within the manufacturing activity spectrum‑such as mechanical assembly, electrical assembly, or mechatronic assembly.

What You Will Learn:

• Professional engineering behaviours and industry best practice
• Working as part of a highly skilled and adaptable team
• Understanding and working with complex engineering systems
• Working from engineering drawings and manufacturing instruction sheets
• The Manufacturing Lifecycle and key engineering processes
• Lean methodology
• Manufacturing tools and methods
• Structured and methodical approaches to problem solving and investigation

Apprenticeship Programme:

Year 1 - As a Manufacturing Apprentice you will undertake a Level 2 Engineering Apprenticeship (NI) at South Eastern Regional College, working towards a Level 2 NVQ in Performing Engineering Operations.

Year 2 & 3 - You will then progress onto a Level 3 Manufacturing or Mechatronic Apprenticeship to achieve the BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering at South Eastern Regional College, at Thales you will be documenting your practical trade skills by working towards a Level 3 NVQ in Manufacturing Engineering.

Programme structure:

You will be given paid day release to attend college (SERC) each week alongside your day‑to‑day duties as a Manufacturing Apprentice. In your first year, you will attend Thales IAS UK College at Skills for Success on Friday mornings, from 08:00-12:00, where you will further develop the skills needed to work as part of a highly skilled team.

Entry Requirements:

To apply, you will need:

• 5 GCSES grade 9-4 (A-C) including English and Maths
• Applicants must have been resident in Northern Ireland for the past 5 years

Benefits:

• Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum
• Holiday entitlement of 201 hours a year (plus a company day and bank holidays)
• Contributory Company Pension
• Health Care Cash Plan
• Employee assistance programme
• Learning and development support
• Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives
• Life Cover
• 80 Hours fully paid Volunteering per year (first two years)

Please note, assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February - May 2027. Induction week for all Graduate and Apprentices will take place from Monday 6 September - Friday 10 September 2027.

Closing date: Our applications will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 17 February 2027, this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of February 2027 with details of next steps.

Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements.

To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment.

To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived