Manufacturing Engineering Apprentice
MBDA
Manufacturing Engineering Apprentice
MBDA
Missile systems designer and manufacturer
Manufacturing Engineering Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship 2027
Salary: £23,000 plus a £3000 joining bonus
Duration: 4.5 years
Work Location: Bolton
Learning provider: Blackpool College
Due to the need to attend your MBDA site and the training provider as required for your apprenticeship, applicants need to ensure their home or rental location is appropriate, travel arrangements are manageable and travel time is minimised as required for your role.
The qualification: You'll study for a Manufacturing Degree apprenticeship; your final award will be a BEng (Hons) degree in Engineering Manufacturing from Lancaster University.
Find out more details on the course here https://www.blackpool.ac.uk/course/en00084
Security clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.
Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.
This role is scheduled to close for applications at midnight on Friday 22nd January 2027 but may close earlier depending on application volumes.
What we can offer you:
Programme structure - your work at MBDA:
You'll be at college 1 day a week, the rest of your week you will be at MBDA understanding the role of a Manufacturing Engineer. Manufacturing Engineering is part of the Operations directorate based at our Manufacturing Centre of Excellence. Manufacturing consists of Assembly, Integration and Test of all our products for the company. The products we make are delivered directly to the customer/end user and therefore manufacturing are imperative to the delivery aspects of MBDAs business.
All of our apprenticeships at MBDA involve placements to help you understand more about our business. This apprenticeship will involve placements that rotate around different manufacturing engineering teams, with potential opportunities to do placements at other MBDA sites. You'll have the opportunity to work within the following areas:
Manufacturing Engineers work closely with a range of teams to influence designs and are responsible for ‘how’ we build our products. This means you could get involved in and learn more about:
Every single day for a Manufacturing Engineer is different, combining a mix of time spent on the shop floor and office based working. There are also opportunities to travel to other MBDA sites and countries, plus visiting suppliers. You'll have the opportunity to work in the following
Throughout your programme you'll be completing assignments and sitting exams for your university studies. There will also be incredible opportunities to bring your technical knowledge to schools and colleges as a STEM ambassador - making handling your diary the key requirement for balancing your work load.
This is a fantastic opportunity for you to join an apprenticeship scheme that has developed winners of some of the most prestigious apprenticeship awards in the UK!
Our collaborative approach and culture of sharing knowledge will be key to your development. We trust each other to thrive and support one another to learn, meaning when you join us, you’ll bring a different perspective to how we see the future!
What we’re looking for from you:
This role has specific qualification and subject criteria so please make sure you carefully check your eligibility against this criteria before applying otherwise your application will not be considered. If you are currently studying and predicted to meet these requirements by the start date you are welcome to apply.
GCSEs:
A minimum of 5 GCSEs at minimum grade 4.
This must include:
After GCSEs:
After your GCSEs you must have completed one of the following and achieved 120 UCAS Tariff points:
Please note: We look at entry criteria based on your top three full A Levels or equivalent qualifications (BTEC/T Level). We do not include UCAS points gained from an Extended Project Qualification. Additionally, as an employer we set our own entry criteria based on the requirements of this role. This means that the criteria above may differ from the university.
Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given
MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.
We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more…
We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.
Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.
MBDA designs, develops and manufactures missiles and missile systems for air, land, and naval forces, as a European defence group owned by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo with national entities in France, the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain. Its range includes air-to-air missiles (Meteor, MICA), air defense (Aster, CAMM), deep-strike (Storm Shadow/SCALP), anti-ship missiles (Exocet, Sea Venom), and battlefield weapons (Brimstone, Akeron), plus loitering munitions, hypersonic weapons and the DragonFire laser. It earns revenue from long-term government contracts covering development, production and through-life support, serving about 90 armed forces worldwide and investing in defence and deep-tech startups. The goal is to provide integrated, end-to-end weapon solutions and keep defense capabilities up to date for its home nations and partners.
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