Apprentice Materials Technician

Come and join our Highways Laboratory. The County Highways Laboratory is part of Engineering Services within the Highways Department of Hampshire County Council. We are a dynamic and forward-thinking authority, delivering a wide range of high quality testing services to the council, other public authorities and private sector clients. Based in Micheldever, the County Highways Laboratory is equipped to perform over 50 specialised laboratory and site tests on construction materials including asphalt, aggregates, soil and concrete. This is to ensure that materials used on our highway network are compliant and safe. We are also UKAS accredited, guaranteeing the highest level of quality and reliability in our testing services.

The Role: As an Apprentice Materials Technician we will provide you with both practical on-the-job training and an externally provided qualification from level 3 up to level 5. This will mean that you can develop toward performing the investigation and testing work both at the laboratory and on-site, working within the team to produce results. This can occasionally include working as part of a small team or independently at a client location. With a highly varied workload, no two days are ever the same – you could be working on site collecting samples, at the laboratory testing them, or writing up reports and undertaking quality checks.

What you’ll do: The role holder will be part of the materials testing team in the County Highways Laboratory, working alongside your colleagues to support and undertake the technical work of the laboratory on a day-to-day basis. You will be working on behalf of our clients to carry out a range of road pavement investigations and materials testing activities both within the laboratory (based in Micheldever) and out in the field.

What we’re looking for: You will be inquisitive, eager to constantly learn and develop new knowledge, and have an eye for detail. You will also need to be able to work collaboratively and as part of a friendly, enthusiastic and diverse team. You don’t need any previous experience to apply for this role – full training will be provided both on the job and through our apprenticeship provider, ensuring you’re fully supported from day one. While having GCSEs (or equivalent qualifications) is preferable, our priority is finding the right person with the right attitude and potential; if needed, we can support you in achieving Level 2 English and Maths as part of the apprenticeship. Our programme is open to people of all ages, not just school leavers or young people, and we actively welcome applications from individuals looking to retrain or make a career change.

We offer a flexible, motivating and inclusive workplace environment, where talent is truly recognised and developed. We have created an environment that you can look forward to being a part of and where you are empowered to be your best self. We believe in creating a workplace built on teamwork and where people can grow and develop in their roles.

Contact Details for an Informal Discussion: Hampshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. In order to combat discrimination, no unnecessary conditions or requirements will be applied which could have a disproportionately adverse effect on any one group. All sections of the population will have equal access to jobs. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity, unless a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) applies. We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.