Engineering Apprentice - Mechatronics

Start your career in engineering with Biffa as a Mechatronics Apprentice, where hands‑on experience meets real‑world impact. Our award nominated and IET accredited Mechatronics Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship is a 4 year programme where you will learn a wide range of skills in electrical, electronic, mechanical, fluid power and control systems disciplines. During year 1, you will spend term‑time at Colchester Institute, combined with short periods of time embedding your new skills on site. Subsequent years will primarily be spent on our Masons site, but college attendance will still be required. Your starting salary of £26,852 will increase each year of your apprenticeship, depending on your progress through the scheme. On successful completion, you will gain a formal and recognised Level 3 qualification. Graduates will also have the necessary experience and qualifications to obtain EngTech status with the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

A quick look at the role. The role holder will efficiently carry out preventive and reactive maintenance, examination of and fault finding on plant and equipment and servicing activities on a hazardous waste site, ensuring health & safety and environmental compliance and contributing to continuous improvement in operations and plant and equipment availability.

The Biffa division you’ll be supporting focuses on the treatment, recycling and disposal of waste. It provides a number of treatment services for those materials that can be recovered and landfill disposal for those that are not suitable for recycling or energy recovery.

Your core responsibilities:

• Provide high operational availability, and an efficient breakdown repair service.
• Diagnosis running faults and ensuring effective repairs and improvements are conducted within minimum time scale.
• Carry out installation work to the required standards.
• Ensure productivity and availability exceeds minimum defined standards, whilst driving best practice and continuous improvement in cost control and operations.
• Develop and implement a programme of planned preventative maintenance and inspection to minimise downtime, provide records of recurrent faulting and develop engineered solutions to these issues.
• Carry out minor maintenance operations to plant and equipment.
• To liaise with external contractors on specific repairs/maintenance work.
• Keep abreast of changes to health & safety and environmental legislation and Company policies to ensure defined standards and best practice are implemented.
• Ensure compliance with all Company policies, processes and procedures.
• Review maintenance activities, implementing necessary corrective actions as required.
• To carry out any other such reasonable job related tasks as the Company may require.

Our essential requirements:

• GCSEs at Grade C/4 or above (or the equivalent) in Maths and English.
• Due to funding rules, you must NOT already have a qualification in a similar subject at the same or higher level than this apprenticeship.
• Strong interest in maintenance, with the desire to become a multi‑skilled electrical/mechanical technician.

And here’s why you’ll love it at Biffa:

• Ongoing career development, training and coaching – Because if you don’t grow, we don’t grow.
• Generous pension scheme.
• Retail and leisure discounts.
• Holiday and travel discounts.
• Life cover.

Changing the way people think about waste. At Biffa, we love working with waste. Whether we’re turning it into sustainable power, finding new ways to recycle it or simply keeping it off the streets, we believe every day is an opportunity to improve the lives of millions. It’s a view that’s shared by our 11,000+ people around the country, who trust us to provide them with a career that’s always rewarding, often challenging, but never dull. And it’s why we’re the UK’s No. 1 choice for business waste management.

Dedicated to diversity. Being inclusive is core to our culture at Biffa; we believe different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds are key to developing a creative and effective working environment that represents our communities and generates the best outcomes for colleagues, customers and stakeholders, which is why you’ll find us championing diversity, equity and inclusion at every turn.