Trainee Project Controls - Cost Engineer

Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) via AMS Skills Creation

Location: Sites may include Hunterston, Dungeness, Sizewell or Winfrith

Launch Your Career in Project Controls and Cost Engineering

Are you analytical, detail-focused and interested in how major projects are financially controlled and delivered? Whether you are a recent graduate, career changer, veteran, returner, or looking to reskill into a high-demand profession, this is an exciting opportunity to start a career in Project Controls and Cost Engineering through the AMS Skills Creation Hire, Train, Deploy Programme. You’ll join a structured pathway supporting Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), helping deliver some of the UK’s most important nuclear decommissioning and infrastructure projects. The programme is designed to identify high-potential individuals based on aptitude, attitude and willingness to learn, rather than previous project controls experience.

The Opportunity

You’ll begin with 10 weeks of fully funded virtual training, designed to equip you with the skills needed to succeed as a Project Controls Cost Engineer. The training pathway includes Project Controls Foundations, estimating, cost baselines and budgets, Cost Breakdown Structures, cost control, Earned Value Management, forecasting, cost performance reporting and integrated project controls. Following successful completion of training, you’ll be deployed into a Project Controls Cost Engineer role supporting live projects across NRS. No previous Cost Engineering or Project Controls experience is required — just curiosity, commitment, strong attention to detail and a willingness to learn.

The Role

As a Trainee Project Controls Cost Engineer, you’ll help major projects stay financially controlled by supporting cost estimating, budgeting, forecasting, performance reporting, and cost risk management. Working alongside Project Managers, Project Planners, Engineers and Project Controls specialists, you will help ensure projects remain within budget and that project cost performance can be accurately tracked, forecast and reported.

• Support the development of project cost estimates, budgets and cost baselines.
• Help create and maintain Cost Breakdown Structures (CBS).
• Monitor actual project expenditure against approved budgets.
• Track cost performance, variances and emerging financial risks.
• Support forecasting activity, including likely final project costs and Estimate at Completion inputs.
• Produce cost performance information and reports to support project decision-making.
• Work closely with Project Planners to understand how schedule progress impacts cost performance.
• Support integrated project controls reporting across cost, schedule, performance and risk.

Think of this role as the financial control centre of a project — providing accurate cost insight, performance information and forecasts to help project teams make informed decisions.

What We’re Looking For

We’re interested in potential rather than specific experience. You’ll be well suited to this opportunity if you enjoy working with numbers, solving problems, interpreting information and supporting others to make good decisions. You will have:

• Strong numerical and analytical skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Confidence working with data and information.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Good organisational skills and the ability to manage information accurately.
• Initiative, adaptability and a willingness to learn.
• A collaborative approach to problem-solving.
• Integrity, professionalism and the ability to work in a highly regulated environment.
• Permanent Right to Work in the UK.

Previous experience in project controls, finance, estimating, data analysis or engineering environments may be helpful, but it is not essential.

Working Pattern — Post Training

Following successful completion of training and deployment into NRS, you’ll benefit from a compressed working week:

• 37 hours per week
• 9.25 hours per day Monday to Thursday*
• Every Friday off * with the exception of Winfrith which operates a 4.5 day on-site policy per week.

Why Join Us?

• Earn while you learn — salary from day one.
• 10 weeks of specialist Project Controls, Cost Engineering and Planning training.
• Build skills in estimating, cost baselines, forecasting, Earned Value Management and performance reporting.
• Learn how cost and schedule information are integrated to support major project delivery.
• Work on nationally significant nuclear decommissioning and infrastructure projects.
• Access structured career development, mentoring and ongoing learner support.
• Join a growing profession with long-term progression opportunities.
• 28 days annual leave (including bank holidays) plus additional benefits.

Your Future Starts Here

This is more than a job — it’s a supported route into a high-demand profession where you can develop valuable project controls, cost engineering and performance management skills while contributing to nationally important work.