2026 Software Engineering Apprentice – Level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions
Start Date: 07 September 2025
Salary: £24,000 per annum
Employee type: Permanent
Location: Cheadle
Working Schedule: Monday – Friday, 37 hours a week (8 hours Monday‑Thursday, 5 hours Friday)
What the Role Has to Offer
* Fully funded degree
* Competitive salary
* Real‑world training experience with a skilled and friendly team
* Permanent role from day one with a career path after graduation
You will be a key member of a diverse team of software engineers, solving complex challenges for our Royal Navy and export customers. Working with specialists across the Thales global business, you’ll push the boundaries on topics such as Artificial Intelligence and novel computing architectures to enhance our products.
You're encouraged to own your development plan covering the technical and professional skills needed to meet your ambitions. You will be fully supported by your team to make this a reality. Software engineering offers a varied career path and you will have opportunities to gain skills and further qualifications in areas such as architecture, design, coding and testing. As a valued member of a software sprint team, you will develop solutions and work with wider disciplines such as systems engineering to define what is needed and what is valuable to the end user.
Apprentice Programme
As a Software Engineering Apprentice you will study towards a BSc in Digital and Technology Solutions, following the Software Engineering Pathway.
This is a Gold accredited programme under the Tech Partnership Degrees. Over four years you will spend one day per week at Manchester Metropolitan University and the remaining four days working at the Cheadle site, applying university learning to real‑world projects and gaining breadth of experience with teammates. At the end of the apprenticeship you will work as a software engineer within the Thales UK businesses.
Requirements
* 104 UCAS tariff points at A Level (Grades BCC) or equivalent (e.g., BTEC DMM)
* 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)
Closing date: 11:59pm on Thursday 12 February 2026
Please note 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.
Recruitment Process
Assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February and May 2026. Induction week for all graduates and apprentices will take place from Monday 7 September to Friday 11 September 2026.
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 prior to starting with us.
To be eligible for full SC you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last five years. The vetting process will require evidence of identity, eligibility to work, time spent abroad, and employment/education history.
Further details of the evidence required for security clearance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/nationa
Thales is an equal opportunities employer. Diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.
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