Level 6 Academy Engineer Degree Apprenticeship

Thales; Belfast City District; Hybrid; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Hybrid/flexible working

Pension

Health care support

Learning & development

Volunteering time

Career progression

Job summary

Thales in Belfast invites applications for a four-year Mechatronics Engineering Apprenticeship combining university study with on-the-job training. You’ll study towards a Level 6 Higher Apprenticeship and a BEng Mechatronic Engineering degree with Ulster University, spending the first year mostly at university and later balancing work and study.

The programme offers a competitive salary of £24,000 per year, with hybrid/flexible working options and extensive learning and development support to

Qualifications

• 112 UCAS points (A Level BBC) to include Grade B in a STEM subject.
• 5 GCSEs 9-4 including Maths and English.
• Right to work in the UK for the duration of the programme.

Responsibilities

• Learn and build real mechatronic engineering skills across disciplines.
• Contribute to meeting deadlines, quality expectations and budget.
• Grow decision-making skills balancing performance, cost and manufacturability.

Skills

Teamwork

Analytical thinking

Learning agility

Education

A Levels

GCSEs

Job description

Turn your curiosity into a career.

If you're passionate about engineering, eager to learn, and looking for an apprenticeship that combines academic study with exciting on-the-job experience, we'd love to hear from you. Our Mechatronics apprenticeship will let you explore different types of engineering before you make an informed decision to specialise in relevant disciple of engineering.

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 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

About the Role

• As an Engineering Apprentice, you’ll be learning and building real mechatronic engineering skills - This will help you can grow into a confident, positive, and flexible engineer. You’ll develop a strong technical base and get the chance to work on challenging engineering problems as part of a supportive team.
• Mechatronics is where mechanical engineering, electronics, and software come together - so you’ll learn how to think through design, how to create solutions, and how technology helps make systems work automatically.
• In this role, you’ll help the team deliver solutions to meet deadlines, quality expectations, and budget. You’ll learn how good engineering decisions are made - balancing performance, cost, and manufacturability all while working with different parts of the business.

How this helps you grow:

• Build practical, transferable engineering skills: you won’t just learn theory - you’ll learn how designs are made ready for real-world production.
• Become more confident in engineering problem-solving: you’ll work with guidance, but you’ll also learn how to break down challenges and find solutions.
• Understand how engineering decisions are made: you’ll see how cost, quality, and performance trade-offs come into the design process.
• Learn through teamwork: you’ll collaborate with people from different disciplines and begin building professional communication skills.

What You Will Learn

Throughout the apprenticeship, you will gain experience and knowledge in:

• How our business works, especially across Engineering, including software, hardware, and systems
• Engineering and the wider business, together - you’ll be exposed to other functions outside Engineering, so you fully understand how we’re set up and how decisions get made
• Learning from the people who make it all happen - you’ll work with key stakeholders across the business, alongside experienced, long-tenured experts and our leadership teams
• Building your network - you’ll join a large community of future talent (including apprentices, graduates, and interns), helping you grow through connections and shared learning
• Growing your capability through rotation - you’ll develop through a designed pathway with internal rotational programmes, ensuring you get the right experience in the right teams

Apprenticeship Programme

You will be studying towards a Level 6 Higher Level Apprenticeship, finishing with a BEng Mechatronic Engineering degree, with our partners at the Ulster University in their Belfast campus.

This is a 4 year fast track programme. In the 1st year, you will attend university lectures and tutorials over 4 days per week, remotely complete Thales engineering project work and spend 1 day a week onsite developing your engineering knowledge. From 2nd year onwards, you will be in university 1 day a week and 4 days working in engineering, embedding your university learning in a real-life engineering environment.

Entry Requirements

A Levels

• 112 UCAS points (A Level BBC) to include Grade B in a STEM Subject (Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Technology & Design, Engineering, Electronics, Double Award Science/Applied Science)
• Or equivalent BTEC Extended Diploma (DMM) to include a merit in Engineering Principles and Calculus to Solve Engineering Problems. Combination of smaller BTEC Diploma plus A levels or other acceptable Level 3 qualifications as per the Ulster University BEng Mechatronic Engineering degree entry requirements

GCSEs

• 5 GCSE's 9-4 (A-C), including Maths and English.

Please Note: due to funding obligations (i) applicants who already hold a relevant degree will not be eligible for this programme (ii) this opportunity is available in Belfast and open to all Northern Ireland residents. In addition, Right to Work in the UK for the duration of the programme is necessary

Benefits

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

About the Company

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