Manufacturing Technical Apprentice

Job Description

The opportunity:

Leonardo offers a range of Apprenticeships from 3-4 years across a variety of STEM and business routes, offering paid training, coupled with on the job learning that enables you to gain practical skills, experience and knowledge that sets up the best start to your career. We offer a competitive entry salary of £17850 and fully support your academic learning through to qualifications, with salary increases as you progress.

We support helping you settle into your new location ensuring you are familiar with the team and have a warm welcome from day 1. You will initially spend 6 months at college, moving to day release for the remainder of your programme. There is a member of our Early Careers team at each site, helping you progress, ensuring your study time is protected, enabling access to digital learning as well as opportunities to get involved with the local community and STEM projects, enhance many aspects of each programme.

Leonardo values people that look to always develop throughout their career and along with an eager willingness to learn, a successful apprenticeship with us involves a drive to deliver results, sometimes from your own initiative, a patience for problem solving, as well as a need to comply with safety instructions and clear process compliance at all times. We view commitment to programme and learning objectives very highly.

Programme Description

You will be working within world class facilities. During your apprenticeship, you may be working in an office or lab environment or a combination of both.

How this role fits in Leonardo’s four‑year Manufacturing Technical Apprenticeship provides a wealth of learning and development opportunities including an HND in Engineering systems, SVQ level 2 (PEO) and SVQ L3 – Diploma in Engineering. Working with world‑leading specialists, you will increase your technical skills, capability and develop your academic and practical understanding of the engineering lifecycle.

You will undertake a series of rotational placements which could include the methods of testing industry leading radar and laser systems – covering Electronic Testing; Laser Testing; Radar Testing; Legacy Product Testing; Manufacturing Engineering. These placements are to give a broad range of operational experience, but may not all be hiring.

During the rotational placements you will learn how to test complex electrical and mechanical systems to ensure they are safe and reliable. An example of this could be within our state‑of‑the‑art environmental test facility where you will be testing systems under various environmental conditions including altitude, temperature, humidity and vibration. In other departments you could be office based, looking at our manufacturing processes and how they can be refined to reduce cost, or improve build quality. The rotational placement plan will truly give you a flavour of all aspects of engineering verification and test.

Key Responsibility Areas

Years 1 and 2:

During your first six months you will be attending college full‑time to complete an SVQ Level 2. Once back on‑site, you will conduct rotational placements where you will gather real work evidence such as written logs describing day‑to‑day tasks completed and highlighting the key engineering competencies you have demonstrated. The Diploma will require you to complete a Portfolio of evidence, demonstrating your development into a well‑rounded technician/engineer through on‑the‑job training and are gaining the essential practical skills to succeed. During this time you will also be attending college on day release to gain the academic qualifications required by the apprenticeship framework.

Years 3 and 4:

Having gained broad experience across Leonardo, you will undertake a final placement and further your academic study to HND level. These activities will be focused on your area of specialism and the on‑the‑job training will enable you to gather the final evidence required for the Diploma. Beyond the programme there may be the opportunity for you to further your academic achievements based on your talents and capability and needs of the business.

Who would suit this role?

Leonardo values people that look to always develop throughout their career and along with an eager willingness to learn, a successful apprenticeship with Leonardo involves a drive to deliver results, sometimes from your own initiative, patience and problem solving as well as a need to comply with safety and process compliance at all times. We also view dependability to the programme and learning objectives very highly.

Skills, Qualifications & Knowledge Required

You must have (as a minimum) the following academic qualifications:

• 3 x Higher Grades (or equivalent):
• Mandatory: Mathematics (A‑C) and Physics (A‑C) or Engineering Science (A–C)
• Plus, Another Higher subject, preferably a technological subject e.g. Graphic Communication, Product Design, Craft & Design, Tech Studies, Computing etc. (A‑C)
• Standard Grades (1‑3) / National 5: (A‑C) English

Note: This Apprenticeship assumes the candidate has little engineering knowledge and is NOT suitable for candidates who already have an HNC/HND.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do, key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

We offer a comprehensive, company‑funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work‑life balance. Whether you’re looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi‑days each year.
• Secure your future: Benefit from our award‑winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your wellbeing matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee‑led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding performance: All employees are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Join in our success: Our annual Employee Stock Ownership Plan provides you the opportunity to own shares in Leonardo.
• Tailored perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits

We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people, communities and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger – apply now!

Primary Location

GB – Edinburgh

Contract Type

Fixed term

Hybrid Working

Onsite