2026 Engineering (IVVQ) Apprentice - Level 3 Mechatronics Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship

Location: Cheadle, United Kingdom

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space.

Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Start Date: 07 September 2026

Salary: £24,000 per annum

Employee type: Permanent

Working Schedule: 37 hours a week, Monday – Thursday 8 hours a day, Friday 5 hours (Flexible start time between 07:00 and 09:30)

What the role has to offer:

• Earn while you learn
• Job specific training experience
• Recognised qualifications
• Permanent role from day one
• Tuition fees for university or approved training providers are fully covered

What you’ll be doing:

Through our Engineering (IVVQ) Engineering apprenticeship, you’ll be making the most of your talents, getting to understand the Underwater Systems Sonar business; and doing so with the help of one of the biggest and best names in the industry. The key objective of the role is to conduct System Integration and Test activities in each stage of the project lifecycle, ensuring all aspects of the Integration, Validation, Verification, and Qualification (IVVQ) process are completed in line with the Lead Engineer (or IVVQ Managers) instruction, leading to the customer factory acceptance and delivery of both Hardware and Software items for first of class and repeat production systems.

A personal development action plan will start once you have completed your key skills training, where you will gain experience & knowledge in all areas of System Integration and Test. After 3 years and having reached the required level of skill and competence, you will be put forward for an end point assessment to complete your apprenticeship. You will become a key member of the team, with technical knowledge and practical expertise in the use of both common and specialist tools and test equipment, including the use of a variety of measuring, testing, diagnostic aids/equipment and processes to ensure individual components, assemblies and/or integrated systems meet the required specification.

Apprentice Programme:

As an Engineering (IVVQ) Apprentice you will be working towards a Level 3 apprenticeship following the Mechatronics Maintenance Technician standard. For the duration of this 3 year programme you will be given 1 day per week in which to complete your studies with a local college. For the other 4 days, you will be working in the business, applying your learning and gaining a breadth of experience across the industry.

Requirements:

• 5 GCSEs grade 9-4 (A-C) including English and Maths

Benefits:

• 201 hours annual leave (plus a company day and bank holidays)
• Company Pension
• Health Care Cash Plan
• Life Insurance
• Discount Portal
• Performance-related pay uplifts
• 80 Hours Volunteering (first two years)

Please note, assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February - May 2026. Induction week for all Graduates and Apprentices will take place from Monday 7 September - Friday 11 September 2026.

Closing date: Our applications will close at 11.59pm on Thursday 12 February 2026, this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of February 2026 with details of next steps.

Please note that roles may close earlier than the advertised deadline if we receive a high number of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid missing out on this opportunity.

Recruitment Process:

For further information about our Future Talent recruitment process, including hints and tips, or to connect with a member of the Future Talent Team, a Graduate, or an Apprentice, please visit.

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, all of our roles are subject to security restrictions. All successful candidates must possess the permanent right to work in the UK, and will be required to go through Government security clearance at BPSS Level and to obtain full Security Clearance (SC) in line with the United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) requirements below, prior to starting with us.

This role requires you to be a sole British National from birth and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment.

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. As part of the vetting process you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, eligibility to work in the UK, time spent abroad over the last 5 years, as well as employment and/or educational history.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for security clearance please follow this link.

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales. In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!