Technical Publications & Product Training Apprentice – Level 3 Engineering and Manufacturing Support Technician in Crawley

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Start Date: 06 September 2027

Salary: £24,000 per annum

Employee type: Permanent

Working Schedule: Monday – Friday, 37 hours a week (8 hours Monday – Thursday, 5 hours Friday)

Turn your curiosity into a career. If you're passionate about engineering, eager to learn, and looking for an apprenticeship that combines academic study with exciting on-the-job experience, we'd love to hear from you.

Benefits of the programme:

• Earn a salary while studying for your qualification
• Gain hands-on experience in a real engineering environment
• Receive job-specific training and development
• Achieve a recognised engineering qualification
• Secure a permanent role from the start of your apprenticeship
• Have your tuition fees fully paid

About the Role

As a Technical Publications & Product Training Apprentice, you will develop the technical knowledge, practical skills and professional behaviours needed to become a confident and capable engineer. Your responsibilities may include:

• Develop engineering knowledge and skills within the Technical Publications and Training Services department.
• Build technical expertise through a combination of on-the-job training and academic study.
• Support the team with service-engineering activities.
• Ensure work is delivered to deadlines and within budget.
• Perform tasks professionally, within your competence level, and under supervision.
• Adhere to relevant specifications, standards, and Thales documentation processes.

What You Will Learn

Throughout the apprenticeship, you will gain experience and knowledge in:

• Developing engineering knowledge across electronic, mechanical, software engineering, and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS)
• Understanding the key techniques and technologies used in designing and implementing Thales products
• Learning about the bid process
• Verifying maintenance and operating procedures by assessing hardware and software equipment
• Reading and interpreting engineering CAD models, drawings, and specifications
• Developing additional media skills, including video editing, drones, and AI tools
• Understanding the different disciplines within the Services function and how equipment is designed with supportability in mind
• Building knowledge of and using Services tooling and software packages
• Learning and maintaining knowledge of current industry standards across service disciplines
• Supporting the UK Armed Forces and the MOD to develop and maintain cutting-edge publications, training tools, methods, and media

Specialise within Technical Publications & Training Services:

• Technical Publications development and generation, including online help
• Technical Publications authoring and illustrating
• Training Needs Analysis
• Product Training Courseware development, including online e-learning
• Face-to-face training delivery
• Media skills

Apprenticeship Programme

This is a 3–4-year programme delivered in partnership with an external provider. You will study towards a Level 3 Engineering and Manufacturing Support Technician Apprenticeship, delivered via a blended delivery model and self-directed learning activities. You will be able to apply your classroom learning back into the workplace, whilst working on real-world projects alongside Thales experts.

Please note that anyone with a relevant BTEC, HNC, HND or degree will not be eligible.

Entry Requirements

Minimum of five GCSEs at Grade 9-4 (A-C) in English and Maths

Benefits

• Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum
• Performance-related pay uplifts
• Holiday entitlement of 201 hours a year (plus a company day and bank holidays)
• Contributory Company Pension
• Health Care Cash Plan
• Hybrid/flexible working options
• Employee assistance programme
• Learning and development support
• Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives
• Life Cover
• 80 Hours Volunteering per year (first two years)

Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements. To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment. To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years.

As part of the vetting process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, right to work in the UK, any time spent overseas during the last five years, and your employment and/or education history. In addition, this role supports a UK Eyes Only programme and is therefore subject to government-mandated nationality restrictions. To satisfy the security clearance requirements for access to highly sensitive information, applicants must have been British citizens from birth and must not hold any other nationality. This requirement is determined by the UK Government and is a condition of programme access rather than an employment preference.

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity, and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales. At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities.

Please note, assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February - May 2027. Induction week for all Graduate and Apprentices will take place from Monday 6 September - Friday 10 September 2027.

Closing date: Our applications will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 17 February 2027, this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of February 2027 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.

Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!