Apprentice Waste Network Operations in Shrewsbury

At Severn Trent, we believe everyone deserves more. More care for the environment, more sustainable initiatives, and more support for the communities we serve. That’s why we’re on a mission to deliver bigger and better things, and we need passionate apprentices like you to help us achieve our goals. Our people and culture are the heart of our success. We’re proud to be in the top 5% of utility companies worldwide for employee engagement and ranked as a Top 50 UK Employer on Glassdoor. With nearly 10,000 dedicated colleagues, we’re looking for more brilliant people who are eager to turn challenges into opportunities for a better future. If you’re excited to learn, and ready to make a real impact, we want you on our team.

Apprenticeship Programmes are a great way to earn and learn! Our Apprentice Waste Network Operations Programme offers the perfect blend of personal and professional development, exposing you to the core of our business. You’ll be supported every step of the way. Your role will be to gain practical experience in a few teams developing your knowledge and understanding of Severn Trent and the processes. All of this will allow you to further develop your skills so you can communicate data effectively to a wide variety of stakeholders. Furthermore, you’ll be exposed to a wide range of opportunities through getting hands on with our teams. We welcome all apprentices from diverse backgrounds, as we know diverse minds bring new ideas and a different way of thinking. We are looking for someone who wants to build their career with us and grasp new opportunities, and in return we will support you with varied experiences, training and development to provide a grounding for your future career.

You will be based at Shelton in Shrewsbury, the heart of our patch. In this exciting programme, you will have the chance to discuss your development and career ambitions in your 1-1 meetings with business leads, mentors, a study buddy, the cohort leader, and the New Talent Team. You’ll join a 24-month programme, made up of 20 months of training and a 4 month EPA (End Point Assessment) period. During your programme you will be working on-site and gain experience across waste networks sewerage operations, by completing 2 in-role placements within our Customer and Environment teams.

• In the Customer team, you’ll work with our reactive operatives, who are responsible for responding to customer call-outs and maintaining Severn Trent’s waste network. You’ll learn to use jetting and vacuumation equipment to support first-response tasks such as blockage clearance, pipe cleansing, and network surveying, while delivering excellent face-to-face customer service.
• In the Environment team, you’ll work with our proactive technicians and technical experts, who are responsible for maintaining the variety of assets on Severn Trent's waste network. You’ll learn to identify our assets and understand how they work to support advanced problem diagnosis, while identifying improvement opportunities and mitigating pollution risks.

As part of this apprenticeship, you will be studying towards a Level 3 qualification in Water Industry Network Technician - Waste Water. You can find more information about this qualification by following this link. We encourage you to read this additional information before applying.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• Learning how we maintain and repair our wastewater network.
• Ensuring our system is working efficiently and effectively so that we don’t cause any nasty blockages!
• Working with customers to educate them on the impact pouring fats, oils and grease down the drain can have on our system and will take pro-active surveys and actions to keep our network well-maintained.
• Understanding how we respond and investigate pollution incidents, with a real care for our environment, customers and community.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• A ‘can do’ attitude – willing to get stuck in, take accountability for decisions and actions and who takes pride in their work.
• A love of variety in a role and ability to adapt to a dynamic, fast-paced working environment.
• Ability to quickly prioritise tasks and the initiative to dive head-first into problem solving.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills and enjoy working with multiple teams.
• Ability to analyse and interpret information and effectively communicate this to different team members and audiences.
• Curiosity to learn quickly in an entirely dynamic working environment.

Our New Talent Team will guide you and support you every step of the way. Furthermore, your line manager and mentor will be there to help you in making sure you reach your full potential here at Severn Trent.

ENTRY CRITERIA

If you don’t already have GCSEs in English and Maths, you will need to take functional skills as part of the apprenticeship, which is an alternative to GCSEs and achieve a Level 2. You will need to achieve this prior to completion of your apprenticeship.

DRIVING REQUIREMENTS

You must have a full UK driving licence along with access to your own vehicle upon starting the role. Please note, some of our sites are in remote locations and not serviced by public transport. It is your responsibility to ensure you can arrive safely at work for your start time each day, so please consider this before applying. You will be working 37 hours per week Monday to Friday, typically across a 7am – 3pm, working hours may differ due to the role being in an operational area of the business.

HOW WE’LL REWARD AND CARE FOR YOU IN RETURN

It’s not just a job you’ll get here, you’ll get a career too. We have a range of benefits that reward and recognise great work and award-winning training to ensure you reach your potential. And we’ll also help you play your part in looking after the environment and the community in which we live. Here are just some of our favourite perks that you’ll get being part of the Severn Trent family:

• 25 days holiday + bank holidays (and the ability to buy/sell up to 5 days per year).
• Annual bonus scheme (of up to £1,500, which is subject to eligibility).
• Leading pension scheme – we will double your contribution (up to 15% when you contribute 7.5%).
• ShareSave – the chance to buy Severn Trent Plc shares at a discounted rate.
• Dedicated training and development with our Academy.
• Retail Offers.
• Family friendly policies.
• Two paid volunteering days per year.

As if that isn’t enough, you’ll receive an annual salary increase whilst you’re on programme and you’ll also get an increase when you move into your first job.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

At Severn Trent we are passionate about our people. We want to make sure that we continue to foster a more diverse, inclusive, and cohesive culture that represents the communities and customers we serve. We’re making sure we keep up the progress with our wonderful working groups – LGBTQ+, Women in Operations & STEM, Disability and Ethnicity, who help us with our commitments.

Apply now to build an amazing career and be part of a brilliant team. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Roles close on 16th March at Midday (12pm). Check your diary – face to face assessments will run from through April and May 2026. Estimated start date - September 2026.

In accordance with Home Office guidance successful candidates will be required to evidence their right to work in the UK before commencement of employment. We have assessed this programme and do not consider that we would be able to sponsor a successful candidate under the Skilled Worker route as the role does not meet the relevant Home Office criteria; the successful candidate must be able therefore to demonstrate right to work without Severn Trent sponsorship.