Broadcast and Media Systems Engineer Degree Apprenticeship - Level 6 - Belfast

BBC; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Career development opportunities

Employability training

Networking opportunities

Job summary

The BBC in Belfast is offering a fixed-term apprenticeship in Engineering within the Technology Operations department. This full-time scheme lasts 36 months.

You’ll learn on the job and work towards an apprenticeship qualification with a learning provider, while contributing to live broadcasting environments. You will study at Birmingham City University across subjects including Audio and Vision Engineering, IP Networks, Computer Science, Broadcast Technology, and more, gaining hands-on

Qualifications

• Be 18+ by the time the apprenticeship begins in September 2027.
• Have lived in the UK continuously for the last 3 years prior to the start of the apprenticeship.
• Be legally eligible to work full‑time in the UK for the entire duration of the apprenticeship.
• Not currently enrolled in another apprenticeship programme.
• Have achieved Maths and English GCSE at Grade 4/C or above or equivalent qualification.
• Have achieved, or expected to achieve, by the start of the scheme, a minimum of UCAS points.
• Have achieved A Level/Higher Maths or equivalent qualification.
• Not have completed or hold qualifications in the apprenticeship subject at Level 6 or higher.

Responsibilities

• Develop your understanding of how live content is acquired and presented to studios, recording areas, playout facilities and distribution platforms in the formats they each require.
• Develop operational and engineering skills, learning how to use a variety of tools and systems, as well as how they work and what we do when things go wrong.
• Develop teamworking and communication skills, working as part of a varied team providing services, and talking directly to other departments across the BBC.

Skills

Technical curiosity

Problem solving

Media technology interest

Time management

Calm under pressure

Self-starter

Flexibility

Job description

Contract Type: Fixed-Term Apprenticeship, Full-time for 36 months

Department: Technology Operations

Location: Belfast - Broadcasting House

Salary: £24,650

COULD A BBC APPRENTICESHIP BE THE NEXT ROLE FOR YOU?

Join us as an apprentice at the BBC to give yourself the opportunity to kick-start your career in a job you'll love. We’re committed to your skills and talent development. You’ll learn on-the-job, developing your knowledge and skills in an area that interests you, whilst working towards your apprenticeship qualification with one of our learning providers.

WHY JOIN THIS SCHEME?

Engineering in the BBC develops, supports and maintains the systems and infrastructure that keeps the BBC on air. This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of the next generation of media systems engineers helping the BBC to deliver content for TV, radio, online and other digital services. You’ll be working on unique challenges, hand in hand with the best creative minds in the UK.

Learn about technologies and systems for TV, radio and digital channels, and how they produce high-quality content that’s distributed around the world. Also learn the industry standards for the set-up of broadcast communication systems, media content systems and IP networks.

Develop the specialised skills to design, build and maintain the media production and broadcasting technologies and systems that will take the BBC into the future.

Want to find out more? Watch recordings from our webinar series on our Life at the BBC YouTube playlist to learn more about this scheme and other opportunities we offer, and hear from current apprentices about their experiences.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM?

Depending on where you are based, you will work on the front line, supporting TV and Radio Production networks, systems and devices that are behind our flagship services such as Radio 1, 1xtra, 2, 3, 4 and 5, BBC ONE, SIX and TEN News, BBC Breakfast, BBC Sport, BBC Children’s, World TV News, our 40 World Service Radio services, BBC London, and Arabic and Persian TV services. The teams are also responsible for our master control rooms and telecommunication network systems. You will be trained and developed to support our TV & Radio studios and infrastructure and our master control rooms.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT

As a Broadcast Engineering apprentice (EAS27), this is brilliant opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute – you will:

• Develop your understanding of how live content is acquired and presented to studios, recording areas, playout facilities and distribution platforms in the formats they each require. You will learn how we manipulate audio and video and grow to understand the challenges faced in servicing a large broadcasting organisation.
• Develop operational and engineering skills, learning how to use a variety of tools and systems, as well as how they work and what we do when things go wrong.
• Develop teamworking and communication skills, working as part of a varied team providing services, and talking directly to other departments across the BBC.

You’ll study for your industry recognised apprenticeship qualification, learning both on and off the job. This means undertaking blended learning through a series of online and face to face teaching blocks at Birmingham City University, including:

• Audio and Vision Engineering

• Electrical and Electronic Engineering

• IP Networks

• Computer Science

• Broadcast Technology

• Database Technology

• Engineering Mathematics

For more information on what you will study during the scheme, please see the Broadcast & Media Systems Engineer standard.

YOUR SKILLS AND ELIGIBILITY

We’re interested in your passion for working at the BBC and your enthusiasm for delivering world‑class content and operational excellence to our audiences. We’re not focused on your qualifications; instead, we look for potential and offer you the opportunity to apply your transferable strengths and experience to work in different ways.

If you can bring some of these skills and experiences, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply:

• Are fascinated by how things work

• Love solving technical problems

• Have a passion for media technology

• Can manage multiple deadlines and demands on your time

• Have a calm and focused approach to changing circumstances

• Are an enthusiastic self-starter, flexible and adaptable to out-of-hours working

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To be eligible for an apprenticeship at the BBC, you must:

• Be 18 years old or over by the time the apprenticeship begins in September 2027

• Have lived in the UK continuously for the last 3 years prior to the start of the apprenticeship

• Be legally eligible to work full‑time in the UK for the entire duration of the apprenticeship

• Not currently be enrolled in another apprenticeship programme, whether with the BBC or another organisation

• Not already hold a qualification in the same subject area at the same or a higher level than this apprenticeship.

To apply for this scheme, you must also:

• Have achieved Maths and English GCSE at Grade 4/C or above or National 5 (Scotland) at C or equivalent qualification.

• Have achieved, or expected to achieve, by the start of the scheme, a minimum of 112 UCAS points (300 if before 2017).

• Have achieved A Level/Higher Maths, or an extended BTEC in Engineering with Engineering Maths, or an equivalent qualification.

• Not have completed or hold qualifications in the apprenticeship subject, music technology, engineering or similar at Level 6 (undergraduate degree) or higher.

Relocation financial support is available for this role, subject to meeting the financial eligibility criteria. Further information will be shared with applicants during the recruitment process. Details on the wider support, initiatives and networks available at the BBC can be found at our careers site.

This is a fixed‑term apprenticeship - your contract lasts for the duration of the scheme. Once you have completed your apprenticeship, you will be able to apply for any suitable open vacancies at the BBC or outside in the wider creative industry. You’ll be supported with career development, employability training, and networking opportunities to help you take your next step.

For apprenticeship opportunities, disabled applicants who choose to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and who meet the minimum criteria for the role will normally be progressed to the next stage of the recruitment process. For most of our campaigns, this would be an online assessment designed to assess your skills, motivations and suitability for the role. Further details can be found in the FAQs section of our careers site.