Job Title: Modern Apprenticeship Electrical Engineer
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full Time
Salary: Band 5 £33,247 £41,424 (Annex 21 Training post)
Employer: NHS Lothian
Location: Western General Hospital
**Please note we anticipate a high level of interest in this position and may close the vacancy early once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Therefore, please make sure you complete and submit your application at an early stage**
NHS Lothian is responsible for meeting the health needs of circa 800,000 people living in and around Edinburgh. We employ approximately 24,000 staff and provide a comprehensive range of primary, community and acute care services for the populations of Edinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian. Across all areas of care, we seek to provide specialist and general services fairly and efficiently and to the highest standards.
Work Environment:
The objective of the Estates Department is to operate and maintain a physical environment in which healthcare can be delivered efficiently and safely to support patient care. The main elements being the maintenance of both building fabric and services e.g. external and internal finishes, fittings and fixtures, plumbing, electrical and mechanical services, piped medical gases etc.
What might a day in this job look like?
* You’ll arrive at your base hospital and clock in, grab a cup of tea or coffee, and get prepared for the working day by getting your uniform on and gathering your tools ready to start at 8am.
* Your team leader will allocate tasks to your mentor tradesperson, and you will work through jobs together throughout the morning. These will be mainly planned maintenance tasks such as generator tests, distribution board checks, and fire alarm tests. It’s crucial to check any applicable risk assessments before starting any work and ensure that you make any building users aware who may be affected by any maintenance activity.
* Jobs will be completed on a PDA which backs up to an online system, Agility, to keep maintenance records of all equipment.
* You’ll also write up reports of work you’re carrying out and take photographs to record in your apprenticeship logbook. These can be used as evidence for assessors as you approach the end of your apprenticeship so it’s important to keep on top of things.
* Throughout the day, your team leader might call up and allocate some equipment breakdowns requiring repairs. You’ll attend these jobs to investigate issues and provide repair solutions to keep hospital departments running and allow clinical staff to continue their duties providing the best care for patients.
* Along with your mentor, you’ll let departments know what work you’ve carried out and the status of repairs, and if there are any areas which may be temporarily shut down or inaccessible with health & safety and the forefront of your mind.
* You’ll have a 30 minute lunchbreak around midday and enjoy some downtime with colleagues.
* At the end of the day you’ll review work carried out with your mentor and have a debrief before catching up with your team leader for a plan on tomorrow’s work.
* Before clocking out at 4pm you’ll change out of your uniform, get cleaned up and lock your tools away securely ready for another day in Estates. No two days are the same!
* At the end of each week you’ll sit down with your line manager on site and review how the week went, produce an entry in your logbook and plan the week ahead.
What will I learn?
While at College
* Attend college 4/5 days per week and your workplace on the days when the college is closed as agreed by all parties associated with the qualification and agreed by tutors and managers.
* Work closely with the education provider throughout the apprenticeship programme.
* Complete the required work associated with module assessments in a timely manner, raising issues early when not meeting required deadlines
While at Work
* Work with time served colleagues on how to carry out electrical tasks safely and in a timely manner.
* Throughout the duration of the apprenticeship, the post holder is required to work to an agreed training/development plan and on a regular basis to collect and collate supporting evidence for a skills portfolio.
* Participate in the planned preventative electrical program.
* Develop all required electrical skills to a competent level.
* Ensure work areas are kept tidy at all times.
* Work safely at all times.
What Qualifications / Qualities are required?
* Hold a minimum of 3 National 4’s (or equivalent) in Maths, English and a Practical Skills/Technical Drawing Subject.
* We also accept applicants who have achieved: NPA Building Services Engineering
* Strong IT skills when using a variety of Microsoft Packages, with knowledge of GDPR
* A desire to want a long-term career as a Electrical Engineer within NHS Lothian.
* An interest/understanding of Electrical Engineering
* Good interpersonal skills and communication skills to ultimately liaise with colleagues and tutors
* Effective team player
* Effective written and verbal communication skills
* Understand and possess the NHS Lothian Values: NHS Lothian Values
* Ability to carry out delegated responsibilities with in a dynamic clinical environment.
The recruitment process will consist of various stages, all of which are mandatory. If shortlisted, you will be required to attend the following dates and sessions:
Information Session & Group Assessment (In Person, St John’s Hospital in Livingston)
Thursday 5th March
11:00-15:00
Interviews
(In Person)
w/c 9th March
Candidates who are successful in interview will be expected to start in NHS Lothian on Monday 27th April 2026. We are unable able to alter this date.