About the job

Job summary

The Met Office is delighted to open our advertising for a number of apprenticeships, which will commence in September 2024

Job description

What we are offering

We’re looking for an exceptional Engineering Apprentice to help us make a difference to our planet. This apprenticeship can offer you the support, training and industry recognised qualifications to get you on the path to a career in Engineering.

As our Engineering Apprentice - Level 2, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week based in Exeter. You will have the opportunity to spend around 15 months working alongside our engineering team supporting the building, installation and maintenance of environmental monitoring systems. You'll develop your knowledge, skills and behaviours whilst contributing to Met Office aims. You'll develop your technical expertise within the engineering profession and you will have the opportunity to progress to a Level 3 Engineering Apprenticeship leading to Technical Support Technician, NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent). The full course is expected to last 3 years as below:

• Year 1 - Level 2 apprenticeship
• Years 2 & 3 - Level 3 apprenticeship (on successful completion of Level 2)

Whilst this is a temporary position for up to 35 months (including the Level 3), there is potential for it to develop into a permanent position on successful of your apprenticeship. This would likely be in our Technician Engineer role.

Who we are

We provide critical weather services and world-leading climate science to deliver extraordinary impact and benefit across the globe. Our work helps people make better decisions to stay safe and thrive

Together:

• We’re a force for good- focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature- always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it- putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making
• We’re better together- understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving- pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Find out more about our values - https://bit.ly/3fokaRD

Job Purpose

We would look for you to join us in September 2024 with your apprenticeship training beginning shortly afterwards. You would have 1 day per week dedicated to your 20% off the job training. The training will mostly be delivered face-to-face as well as self-study. 

You will be managed by a line manager and have a mentor to offer further support. In addition to the formal training with a registered training provider, you will also have in house and on the job training and experience.

You will have the opportunity to work with a team covering installation, maintenance and servicing UK-wide, (and occasionally overseas) observing networks, allowing you to develop your knowledge, skills and behaviours in this occupation whilst contributing to Met Office aims.

Before applying, we recommend you consider if the delivery method suits your learner needs along with whether you feel you are committed to your own development and training as this element forms a significant aspect of a modern apprenticeship.

Our engineers use their electronic, electrical, and mechanical skills to install or provide field support of observing systems.

• Our Field Service Engineering Team (FSE) ensure our systems supply the high-quality data required to produce our products and services.
• Our Systems Engineering Team (SET) oversee the build, test, and deployment of new systems and/or full sites.

You will be given all the training required to work on these new and existing systems as well as having the opportunity to use and develop your existing skills and knowledge through our apprenticeship scheme.

As our Engineering Apprentice, your key responsibilities are:

• Under supervision undertake build /test / maintenance activates as required by line manager or task manager appropriate to the job.
• Under supervision attend site to support project work as required by line or task manager appropriate to the job.
• Undertake formal training courses ensuring any out of class requirements are delivered. This should include training specific to the Met Office as well as any additional external courses
• Complete tasks and reports required as part of the formal NVQ competency assessment
• Support others within the team to identify possible opportunities to improve overall effectiveness of process, practice and / or procedures.

Person specification

Essential Qualifications, Skills & Abilities

1. A minimum of 5 GCSE grade 5 or above, must include Maths, English and at least one Physical Science (such as physics, chemistry etc.)
2. Keep evolving – by staying abreast of current and emerging engineering practice.
3. Better together – you have proven experience of working in a team and supporting others in delivery of a common goal.
4. Expert by nature – you have evidence of sound oral and written communication skills, including technical information.
5. Live and breathe it – You have a flexible approach to meeting work requirements within a set deadline.
6. You are prepared to work away from home on occasions, potentially for up to a week at a time.

Where candidates are awaiting exam results, any offer made will be conditional on meeting the entry requirements been included under the criteria

Desirable Qualifications, Skills & Abilities

We encourage you to apply if you believe you meet our essential criteria, but your application will be even stronger if you have:

1. Possess a valid UK driving licence and be prepared to drive official vehicles or evidence of being willing to learn to drive – Engineers require colour perception CP2 or better to drive vehicles on airports or ports.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £21,375, Met Office contributes £5,771 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Am I eligible to apply?

In addition to the criteria listed above, you must also be eligible to qualify for apprenticeship funding by meeting the following:

• Not be enrolled on another funded apprenticeship or another funded further education or higher education programme at the time you start this apprenticeship.
• Are applying for an apprenticeship that is unrelated to any qualifications you already hold at the same or higher level than this apprenticeship.

How do I apply?

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you. Please click the link below and complete the application form, making sure to include evidence demonstrating how you meet each of the essential criteria - we recommend candidates use the CARL (Context, Action, Result and Learning) method for presenting evidence of skills. You may also like to take a look at our application tips sheet attached to the bottom of this advert.

Closing date 27/03/2024 at 23:59 with interviews commencing from 07/05/2024. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed. Our interviews are taking place remotely via Microsoft Teams.

If successful, please note we are unable to offer expenses for travel to your normal place of work

How we can help:

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via careers@metoffice.gov.uk . You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.