Broadcast & Media Systems Technical Operator Apprenticeship - Level 3 - Leeds

Overview

Could a BBC apprenticeship be the next role for you? Join us as an apprentice at the BBC to give yourself the opportunity to kick‑start your career in a job you’ll love. We’re committed to your skills and talent development. You’ll learn on‑the‑job, developing your knowledge and skills in an area that interests you, while working towards your apprenticeship qualification with one of our learning providers.

Why join this scheme?

Working alongside journalists and programme makers are a dedicated team of technical operators who make sure the broadcast equipment and technology side of our business run smoothly. This apprenticeship is an exciting entry level opportunity to join the BBC in towns and cities across the country; working at the front end of technical operating in sound and/or vision in the newsroom ingest hubs, galleries, studios, post‑production areas, and out on location.

Your key responsibilities and impact

• Learn how to operate key equipment and undertake key roles within live studio environments, for both TV and Radio.
• Gain hands-on experience working to create news, sports and music content for BBC TV, audio, online and digital platforms.
• Develop teamworking and communication skills, working as part of a varied team providing services, and talking directly to other departments across the BBC.

You’ll study for your industry recognised apprenticeship qualification, learning both on and off the job. Your college learning with the National Film and Television School will introduce you to a wide variety of skills across both TV and Radio, including:

• Camera Operations
• Floor Management
• TV Vision Mixing
• Sound Operations
• Technical Directing
• Shoot and Edit
• Multi-Skilled Operator
• Picture and Audio Editing
• Ingest and Library Functions

Your skills and eligibility

We’re interested in your passion for working at the BBC and your enthusiasm for delivering world‑class content and operational excellence to our audiences. We’re not focused on your qualifications; instead, we look for potential and offer you the opportunity to apply your transferable strengths and experience to work in different ways. If you can bring some of these skills and experiences, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply:

• Passionate about media content and the technical production side of how that content reaches the audience.
• Can work calmly under pressure.
• Fascinated by how things work.
• Brilliant organisational skills and are great at problem-solving.
• Enthusiastic self-starter, flexible and adaptable to out‑of‑hours working.

This scheme is aimed at non-graduates. If you have a degree and you’re interested in similar roles at the BBC, we recommend applying for jobs at the BBC careers site or having a look at our other apprenticeship schemes.

Eligibility criteria

• Be 18 years old or over by the time the apprenticeship begins in September 2026.
• Have lived in the UK continuously for the last 3 years prior to the start of the apprenticeship.
• Be legally eligible to work full‑time in the UK for the entire duration of the apprenticeship.
• Not currently be enrolled in another apprenticeship programme, whether with the BBC or another organisation.

To apply for this scheme, you must also:

• Have little or no work experience in the subject area.
• Not have completed or be working toward qualifications in the apprenticeship subject at level 3 or above.
• Not have completed or be working toward an extended BTEC or degree in media, television, film, audio or radio production.

For candidates under the age of 19 years on 8th September 2026:

To complete the apprenticeship, you must have achieved maths and English GCSE at Grade 4/C or above or National 5 (Scotland) at C or Functional Skills Level 2 or equivalent qualification. If you have not achieved these qualifications by the start of your apprenticeship, you will be required to achieve Functional Skills Level 2 before the end of your apprenticeship when you take your end‑point assessment.

Ready to apply?

Don’t leave yourself wondering “what if?” this could be your chance to be part of something exciting. See yourself thriving in this role? Just click ‘Apply Now’! You’ll create a candidate profile and answer a few questions - no CV or cover letter needed. If you’re eligible, we’ll guide you through the next steps of the process and what to expect.

This is a fixed-term apprenticeship - your contract lasts for the duration of the scheme. Once completed, you’ll be supported with career development, employability training, and networking opportunities to help you take your next step - whether that’s at the BBC or elsewhere in the industry. You’ll need to live within a commutable distance of where this role is based.

The BBC recognises that some people who are applying for a BBC Apprenticeship Scheme may need to relocate to a new location for the role and this might not be possible due to your personal financial constraints. Relocation support is offered to a limited number of apprentices each year and would be considered for this position, subject to meeting the relocation support qualifying criteria. Further details will be shared with applicants during the recruitment process.

Details on the wider support available at the BBC can be found here.

Candidate pack

You belong. We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual’s unique contribution, so all our employees feel that they can belong, thrive and achieve their full potential. We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to join us. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio‑economic background, religion and/or belief.

Find out more about diversity, inclusion and belonging in our strategy below.

Disability confident

We take inclusivity seriously and want to ensure all candidates who are disabled or have long‑term health conditions receive the support and adjustments they need. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the recruitment process, or to carry out this role, please contact us via the Early Careers Recruitment contact form and we’d be happy to discuss how we can support you through the process.