DE&S Finance Apprenticeship Scheme

Quick Overview

• Starting salary £22,560.
• Based at Abbey Wood, Bristol, BS34 8JH, office attendance is required.
• Three-year apprenticeship scheme.
• Specialising in finance.
• Working towards Association of Accounting Technician (AAT) qualifications.
• Entry requirements: Five full GCSEs at grades 4-9 including Maths (minimum grade 5) and English Language.
• Start date: September 2025.

Application requirements

• You must follow our CV requirements, listed below and at this link.
• This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last five years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance.
• Please read all information in this advert thoroughly before applying and save offline for future reference.

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we're here to provide for the Armed Forces, as they serve our country all over the world. We support those on the front line by providing cutting-edge equipment and technology for land, sea, air, and space. We deliver the kit the UK military needs to maintain advantage and stay protected, as they protect life at home and overseas.?

Whichever area you join us in, you’ll discover new talents, pinpoint new ambitions, and find your place among a diverse team. Ready for real investment in your future?

As part of our team, you'll benefit from plenty of routes for development, access to specialist training and funding for professional qualifications, and a c. 28.97% employer pension contribution. You’ll also have access to a wide range of employee networks, including the Women’s Inclusive Network, Race & Culture Network, Pride Network, Disability Network – and many more.?

Job description

We’re looking for talented and motivated apprentices to join our three-year Finance Apprenticeship Scheme and become our finance professionals of the future.

You’ll rotate through several placements focused around finance roles across different areas of DE&S. You may also have opportunities to work in other finance roles supporting the wider Ministry Of Defence (MOD) and Armed Forces.

Day to day, your placements will provide you with the opportunity to learn about all aspects of finance. You’ll gain experience in:?

• Forecasting future budgets
• Reviewing and creating accruals
• Interpreting financial and business data
• Providing financial analysis to support decision making
• Involvement in developing costing for business cases
• Tracking costs to contracts and ensuring they’re recorded correctly
• Using financial systems and business tools

Your hands on experience will be underpinned by MOD and DE&S specific training, as well as study towards achieving Association of Accounting Technician (AAT) qualifications, Levels 3 and 4, over three years. Training will be delivered by an AAT training provider.

On successful completion of your programme, you may be offered a permanent position with DE&S, that reflects the interests and skills you’ve developed throughout the programme.

Please note: Because of the classification of some of the information related to certain projects, some work-based placements may be open to Sole UK Nationals?only.?

Your place of work will be Abbey Wood, Bristol, BS34 8JH. You will be required to attend the office regularly, at the request of your Scheme Manager or Placement Supervisor. This attendance will be at your own expense and costs for travel or accommodation will not be reimbursed.

Person specification

To be successful with your application, we’re looking for you to demonstrate your potential to succeed in a dynamic working environment.?We’re here to help you find your speciality, so,?we hire for potential and train for skills.?

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are dedicated to creating a great place to work that reflects the diversity of the society we serve. By bringing together different ideas, experiences, and perspectives, we can achieve our ambitions, together.?

We’re proud to be a Level 3?Disability Confident Leader, committed to attracting, recruiting, and retaining people with disabilities. We’re dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible and will make reasonable adjustments to support applicants with disabilities.

If you need an adjustment during the recruitment and selection process, even if you feel you do not qualify for the Disability Confident Scheme, please tell us what you need when completing your application online. Please let us know as soon as possible so that our recruitment team have adequate time to consider your request. If you have any questions about reasonable adjustments, you can?contact the recruitment team.

You must hold the right to work full time in the UK and qualify for service under the Civil Service Nationality Rules without any additional immigration approvals. You must be able to evidence this at interview and it must not expire before the start of the scheme. If your right to work will expire while you are in employment, you must be able to reconfirm your right to work before it expires, without sponsorship, to maintain your employment.

This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last five years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating staff on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harms associated with second-hand smoke, and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Tobacco-Free Working Environment (TFWE) programme, smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) are not permitted anywhere, unless stated otherwise, in the Defence working environment. Those seeking, considering, or accepting employment should be aware of this requirement.