Project Development Engineer Higher Apprentice

National Grid; Warwick; On-site; GBP 15,000 - 20,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy company in the UK is seeking apprentices for their Higher Apprenticeship programme. You'll gain hands-on experience supporting project teams in planning and delivering major investments in energy solutions. The programme includes comprehensive training and mentoring, focusing on both technical and professional development. Ideal candidates should have GCSEs and A Levels in relevant subjects along with key skills in communication and problem-solving. This role offers a competitive pension scheme and additional benefits while contributing to a greener energy future.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Protective clothing and safety equipment

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and support the scheme team during pre-construction.
• Develop safe, efficient, least-cost solutions per regulations.
• Assist with site assessments and risk mitigation.
• Monitor financial forecasting for investments.
• Ensure high-quality data management for project optimization.

Skills

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Organisation skills

Customer care skills

Problem-solving skills

Logical

Team working

Physical fitness

Adventurous

Safety awareness

Resilient

Education

3 other GCSE subjects (grade 4 and above)

English Language (grade 4 and above)

Maths (grade 4 and above)

Any A Level subject (grade 4 and above)

Maths or Physics A Level (grade 4 and above)

BTEC in Maths or Engineering (grade Merit or Distinction)

Job description

Join our Higher Apprenticeship programme and gain hands‑on experience supporting multidisciplinary teams in planning, developing, and delivering major investments. You'll contribute to project setup, option selection, contract awards, and technical assessments to ensure safe, cost‑effective solutions. Learn to work within regulations, stakeholder expectations, and support the RIIO‑T3 business plan. Comprehensive mentoring and training will help you develop professionally and technically, setting you on the path to a rewarding engineering career. These are jobs where you’ll be drilling down into the detail on specific subjects. You will be providing technical advice and engineering support for our assets across the entire network, making significant decisions and influencing their execution.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and support the scheme team and stakeholders during pre‑construction, ensuring timely development and approval of investment solutions.
• Help develop safe, efficient, least‑cost solutions in line with regulations, and document all design and risk considerations.
• Assist with site assessments, cost estimation, tendering, and risk mitigation to enable effective project delivery.
• Monitor and control financial forecasting and reporting for investments throughout the pre‑construction phases.
• Ensure high‑quality data management and apply lessons learnt to optimise project scope, cost, and scheduling.

Qualifications

• GCSE:
  • 3 other subjects (grade 4 and above)
  • English Language (grade 4 and above)
  • Maths (grade 4 and above)
• A Level:
  • Any other subject (grade 4 and above)
  • Maths or Physics (grade 4 and above)
• BTEC: Maths or Engineering (grade Merit or Distinction). Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Customer care skills
• Problem‑solving skills
• Logical
• Team working
• Physical fitness
• Adventurous
• Safety awareness
• Resilient

Training Schedule

You’ll need to be able to live away from home during your training, primarily at our Eakring Training Centre in Nottinghamshire. Typically, you stay on‑site from Monday to Thursday and return home for the weekend (Friday to Sunday). The amount of time spent at Eakring will decrease as you progress through the programme:

• Year 1 – around 75 % of the time.
• Year 2 – around 50 % of the time.
• Year 3 – around 25 % of the time.

Benefits

• Competitive pension scheme (Double matched up to 12%) and Sharesave options.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Protective clothing and safety equipment supplied.

National Grid is at the heart of the energy future, and our people are at the heart of National Grid. We’re 30,000 colleagues strong. In the UK, National Grid don’t generate or sell energy – we join the dots to get energy from A to B. From making a cup of tea in the morning, to keeping the lights on in hospitals, our electricity network puts power in the hands of people. Without it, the world as we know it would grind to a halt. The world of energy is changing beyond recognition as we focus on building a cleaner, greener future. Working at National Grid, you won’t just be touching the lives of almost everyone in the UK – you’ll be shaping the way we use and consume energy for generations to come.

Net‑zero targets are transforming the way we work and increasing the scope of the positive impact we can make. Right now, we’re looking for apprentices to join us. Our people in Network Services work across a number of teams to keep the lights on for our customers.