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Apprenticeships
Learn whilst you work and gain a recognised qualification

Apprenticeships @ MBDA

Discover our business, develop your skills, build a network and earn the qualifications you need to succeed. Our four-year apprenticeship schemes provide you with a platform to study, work on exciting projects and make a valuable impact with the work you do, all while earning a salary.

Our apprenticeships focus on business, engineering, software and manufacturing. As part of the programme, you’ll move around the company in rotational placements, where you will gain a wider understanding of what we do, build a network within the organisation and define your future career with us.

There will be plenty of opportunities for you to develop. You’ll work at one of our MBDA sites and study for your qualification via day release at university or college. We also organise bespoke training courses to further enhance and improve your skill set. Starting each September our apprenticeships last for 4 years with salaries starting at £18,000, with a £3,000 joining bonus paid in your first months salary.

Our level 3 apprenticeships cover Project Control and Manufacturing operator roles - if you love managing tasks or getting hands-on then these roles are for you. If you're interested in Engineering and gaining a level 4 qualification then come and learn all about General Engineering or focus on Mechanical Engineering. If numbers is more your thing, then our Finance apprenticeship is worth a look. More focused on getting a degree? We have a range of Engineering, Software and Business apprenticeships for you to pick from. Whichever route you pick, all qualifications are paid for by MBDA - all the learning without the debt.

Are you unsure of your next steps now that you have finished school or college and are interested in finding out more about apprenticeships? Find out more about Movement to Work here. 

Applications for our September 2025 programme are now OPEN! Take a look at what you could be a part of by using our job search - applications are due to close on the 24th January but could be sooner for some roles - so be sure to apply as soon as you can.

Benefits & Rewards

Annual Bonus

Annual Bonus

Every year in February, we reward our dedicated employees with an annual bonus. Exact amounts and percentages will vary by job grade and on business performance. This can be discussed/explained further with a member of the Resourcing team during your application process. 

We are proud to say that we were able to award our annual bonus to employees even through tough economic times in recent years, when other employers were less fortunate. 

 

25 Days Annual Leave (plus holiday purchase)

25 Days Annual Leave (plus holiday purchase)

Employees receive 25 days of paid annual leave per calendar year, in addition to all statutory and public holidays.

This increases to 26 days after 10 years of service and 27 days after 30 years. You can enjoy more time off by purchasing up to an additional five days holiday through payroll.

Dynamic Working

Dynamic Working

We trust our people to agree, within their teams, where and when they can be most effective. Our Dynamic Working policies allow individuals great levels of flexibility around the hours they work and where they work. Depending on your role and function, this may include options for paid overtime, dynamic leave (time in lieu) and more. 

When applying, please check the job advert for details, then make sure to discuss what to expect with your recruiter. 

Enhanced Parental Leave

Enhanced Parental Leave

We recognise that having or adopting a child is a significant life event for our employees and as a family friendly employer we offer a range of enhanced family leave provisions to support employees before, during and after a period of leave.

Our enhanced parental leave offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave. Enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments.

We also offer 2 weeks enhanced pay for paternity leave, and neonatal care leave for up to 12 weeks where a period of extended hospital care is required after birth. Employees also have access to support whilst undergoing fertility testing and treatments. 

Lifestyle - Discounts & Vouchers

Lifestyle - Discounts & Vouchers

Discounts – The Discounts platform includes a great range of features such as: discounts, instant vouchers, reloadable cards, easy saver cards, cashback, mobile app and Wellbeing Centre.

 

Costco - Permanent employees of MBDA qualify for Costco’s individual membership.

 

Technology Vouchers – Purchase the latest gadgets and white goods up to the value of £2,500 and spread the cost over 12 months.

 

Charity Donations - Donate up to five charities each month, with full tax relief on all donations.

 

MyCar Scheme – The MBDA MyCar Scheme offers employees the opportunity to access up to two new vehicles via a salary sacrifice arrangement including an all-inclusive package.

 

Holiday Purchase – Purchase up to 5 days' extra holiday whilst making tax and National Insurance savings, spreading the cost over 12 months.

 

Gyms & Social Clubs

Gyms & Social Clubs

Healthworks Gym Membership - The Healthworks on-site gym at our Stevenage site offers a range of facilities and equipment, alongside a variety of classes available during the week.

 

Annual Gym Membership – Take advantage of discounted membership at over 3,600 of the UK's leading gym chains, leisure centres, hotel health clubs, independent gyms, boot camps and yoga studios.

 

The Club –The Club provides a fantastic opportunity to enjoy great social activities - from theatre trips, days out, to sporting activities.

Pension & Finance

Pension & Finance

Our MBDA Retirement Savings Plan is a 'Defined Contribution' plan in the Mercer Master Trust, administered by Scottish Widows. The standard contributions are 4% of an employee's base salary and 6% employer contributions. You can increase both employee and employer contributions by up to 2%.

 

Financial Awareness – Employees have access to free financial webinars hosted throughout the year, along with access to a financial education website which provides plenty of useful hints, tips and guidance on managing financial wellness.

 

Share Incentive Plan - Acquire shares in our UK Shareholder, BAE Systems PLC, the scheme is tax efficient on shares purchased.

 

Mortgage Advice – As part of our financial wellbeing initiative employees can access free of charge mortgage advice and webinars.

 

Season Ticket Loan – Employees can borrow the value of public transport season ticket for bus or train journeys to and from work and spread the cost over 12 months.

 

Critical Illness – To help reduce the financial impact after being diagnosed with a critical illness, employees receive a tax-free lump sum payment that can be used for any purpose including covering medical expenses, adjustments to lifestyle and more.

Share Incentive Plan

Share Incentive Plan

The Share Incentive Plan (SIP) is available for you to join and reinforces our commitment to long-term share ownership amongst our employees.

Free Financial Advice

Free Financial Advice

We know money matters in life, so we want to make sure our employees are both paid what they deserve, and also have access to resources that can help them plan for the future.

Through selected partnerships, we offer a range of free seminars, held throughout the year, to help you make good financial decisions for now and the future.

Extracurricular Learning Budget

Extracurricular Learning Budget

You can receive up to £150 towards the cost of approved courses each year including group language lessons.

Health and Wellbeing

Health and Wellbeing

Employee Assistance Programme - The Employee Assistance Programme is free, independent, confidential and is available 24 hours a day/365 days a year. Employees have access to short-term counselling (which includes up to 8 structured face to face, telephone or virtual sessions).

 

Voluntary Private Medical Insurance – Private Medical Insurance offers three healthcare plans to suit your individual requirements for you and your family.

 

Funded Private Medical Insurance - Eligible employees (Grade C & Above) are enrolled as standard into the company funded Private Medical Insurance benefit.

 

Dental Insurance – The Dental Insurance benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday dental expenses such as, minor treatments, routine examinations, restorative treatment and more. There are six levels of cover available, with each level providing increased claim limits.

 

Healthcare Cash Plan - The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more. There are six levels of cover available, with each level providing increased claim limits.

 

Healthcare and Leisure – The Healthcare and Leisure benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as medical fees, dentist fees, opticians and also provides access to special deals and concessions on sporting and recreational facilities.

 

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Assistance Programme

Our employees' wellbeing is our priority. That's why everyone at MBDA UK can access free, confidential advice on a range of financial, personal and workplace issues, available 24/7.

Spotlight on our Apprenticeships

Take a look at some of our apprenticeships on offer and see what qualification you can achieve whilst you are earning:

General Engineering

Level: Higher

Qualification: Engineering Manufacturing Technician Level 4 Diploma

Locations: Stevenage

Mechanical Engineering

Level: Degree

Qualification: BEng (hons) Mechanical Engineering

Locations: Stevenage

Electrical Engineering

Level: Degree

Qualification: BEng (hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Locations: Stevenage

Project Control and Planning:

Level: Advanced

Qualification: Project Controls Technician

Locations: Stevenage

Business Management

Level: Degree

Qualification: BA (hons) Business and Management

Locations: Stevenage and Bolton

Software

Level: Degree

Qualification: BSc (hons) Digital and Technology Solutions

Locations: Bristol, Bolton and Stevenage

Finance

Level: Advanced/Higher

Qualification: Assistant Accountant Level 3 progressing to Professional Accounting/Taxation Technician Level 4

Locations: Bristol, Bolton and Stevenage

Manufacturing Operator

Level: Advanced

Qualification: Level 3 Engineering Fitter

Locations: Bolton and Stevenage

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Entry Criteria & Application Process

Entry criteria

Each of our apprenticeships has different criteria; our advanced apprenticeships will typically need 5 x GCSE's whilst our higher apprenticeships typically need 5 x GCSE's and 96 UCAS points. Our degree apprenticeships typically need 5 x GCSE's and 120 UCAS points.

Make sure you pay special attention to the requirements on the job adverts as we will tell you here how many GCSE's and UCAS points each of the apprenticeships need, and which subjects you will need them in.

Recruitment Process: 1. Submit an application

Our application form contains a few factual questions and details on your education, some questions relating to the role you have applied for and a section for you to tell us all about you! 

2. Online assessment - Part One

Next in our process is part one of our online strengths assessment, completely tailored to our business and early careers schemes. After completing our assessment you'll receive a personalised report. If you've applied for more than one role with us, you'll only need to complete this assessment once.

3. Online assessment - Part Two

Part two of our online assessments include three video recorded tasks which are authentic work scenario based activities which you could be doing on your programme - we refer to these as job simulations.

4. Internal review

Hiring managers and members of the recruitment team assess your application and assessment results and if successful, you'll be shortlisted for our assessment centres. 

5. Assessment centre

Our strength based assessment centre is a half day virtual experience! You’ll get to work on a range of tasks, meet current programme members and people from the department you have applied for. All candidates receive feedback on their performance. 

6. Offer

We’ll call you within three weeks of your assessment day to talk through your feedback and the finer details of your offer, as well as next steps.

AI in our application process

At MBDA, we believe in the power of technology to enhance our work and the potential of our future talent.

We understand that candidates may use tools to improve their applications. At MBDA, we emphasize the importance of using this technology ethically and responsibly. Innovation and integrity are two of our values at MBDA.

Use AI to Enhance, Not Replace:

  • Drafting and Editing: Let AI help you organize and polish your application, but ensure your personal voice and experiences shine through to show us your authentic self.
  • Research and Preparation: Use AI to gather insights about our company and the role, demonstrating your understanding and alignment with our values.

Avoid Misuse:

  • Originality is Key: Submitting AI-generated content without personalization can be easily spotted. Authenticity and honesty are crucial.
  • Final Review: Always conduct a thorough manual review to ensure your application reflects your true self and adheres to context-specific nuances.

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