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Degree Apprenticeships: the future of career development?

This year Thales has joined the ranks of organisations running a combined scheme that will offer education to applicants in both the traditional classroom format and on the job training.

Whilst the idea of degree qualification and apprenticeship going hand in hand may sound unusual, in fact young people are open to the idea of Degree Apprenticeships as a way of accessing higher education, whilst gaining valuable experience on their way up the career ladder.   Already a keen employer of apprentices, Thales was immediately on board when the Government announced they were launching the Degree Apprenticeships scheme and swiftly began the task of working with other like-minded employers and the accreditation body, The Tech Partnership, to help in the design and development of one of the new programmes in “Digital & Technology Solutions”.  During September 2015, the group proudly welcomed five new Software Engineering Degree apprentices in Crawley and Cheadle, into our transport and defence businesses.

This apprenticeship programme supports the need within the UK to fill the demand for one million new engineers expected in the digital sector within the next decade. Thales as an employer is committed to helping to fill that skills gap and to work with the young engineers in the organisation to grow their capability to be the experts of the future. The new apprentices will study towards a four year BSc (Hons) degree in “Digital & Technology Solutions”, helping to prepare them to develop the academic and practical skills required by the industry now and in the future.   Among the new apprentices is 20 year old, Nadia Johnson who joined the group in Cheadle. “I’ve always been a fan of learning something and then going and doing it. So studying in a university environment and then putting it to use it in the workplace helps to make it more concrete in my mind. Having a job alongside study was important to me.  I’m fascinated by IT, and working in a field that relates to what I am learning at University is a great opportunity.”

Thales will be offering a further nine software degree apprenticeship opportunities in 2016, in addition to Intermediate, Advanced and Higher Level programmes across a number of different sites and disciplines. Further information can be found on our early careers website with vacancies for the next intake being posted over the coming weeks.

Pictured above are Jessica Wong; Mubia Chachin (both working in Transportation in Manchester); Jamie Paterson and Nadia Johnson, who have both joined our Thales’s underwater systems business in Manchester.

Facts about apprenticeships opportunities in Thales UK:

  • Over 130 apprentices across the UK business
  • 46 apprentices joined in September 2015
  • 70 confirmed opportunities for 2016 across London, Crawley, Cheadle, Glasgow, Basingstoke, Templecombe, Belfast