Infrastructure Engineering Apprenticeship Ref. 1710

Stonewall Top Employer AwardSocial Mobility Foundation AwardThe Times Top 100Disability confident leader

Apprentices and Interns
Central London
£24,420

By joining MI5, MI6 and GCHQ (our UK Intelligence Agencies), you can play your part in protecting the UK and its interests.

•    MI5 is responsible for the domestic security of the UK. Our staff help to identify and counter the threats to the UK from terrorism, cyber and espionage.

•    MI6 works overseas to gather intelligence that will help protect the nation and its interests.

•    GCHQ is focused on technology and cyber, collecting foreign intelligence which linguists translate and analyse to protect the UK from terrorism, hackers, espionage and organised crime.

We are seeking individuals who have a passion for IT, are enthusiastic and keen to learn to join our 18 month Apprenticeship. You will already have some IT experience in any of the roles on offer, and regardless of which area you join us in, we will develop your technical capability with on the job training and an opportunity to obtain industry recognised accreditation where necessary.

On this occasion, we are looking for individuals to join the following areas within the Infrastructure Services:

•    Network Engineers
•    Desktop Implementation Engineers
•    Infrastructure Tools Engineers
•    Mobile Connections Engineers
•    Data Centre Service Engineers
•    IT Operations Engineers
•    Systems Monitoring Engineer

Key Responsibilities

Depending on the role, your responsibilities will vary but you can be sure you will be part of a supportive team and provided with the opportunity to develop your technical knowledge for a rewarding career. This is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities:

•    Support and troubleshoot a variety of different IT systems;
•    Build a good customer relationship with end users and deliver excellent customer service;
•    Receive and respond to IT incidents and service requests within agreed SLAs;
•    Liaise regularly with other IT support teams, including partners in other UK Intelligence Agencies, to ensure they are up to date and informed;
•    Identify problems and areas for continual service improvement;

The Person

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals who have a strong desire to develop their technical skills in a specific area of our UK Intelligence Agencies infrastructure Services. You will be expected to work as part of a team, dealing directly with customers and sometimes in response to time critical operational requests. Therefore, strong troubleshooting ability is essential for success in this role.

You will be required to be able to effectively plan ahead and set clearly defined and realistic deadlines, taking a flexible approach to problem solving.

As we are seeking a wide range of technical skills, we are seeking individuals who can demonstrate knowledge or a desire to learn some of the skills in this area:

•    Microsoft (MS) operating systems
•    MS office suite
•    IT installation
•    PC hardware diagnosis and repair
•    Networking
•    Windows SCCM 2012/CB
•    Windows Server Management
•    Mobile Communications
•    Data Centre Infrastructure Management

You must have (or expect to have by 01 January 2020), 3 A-Levels - 2 A-Levels at grade B or above and 1 A-Level at grade C or above. 2 of the A-levels need to be in either Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths (STEM) subjects, or equivalent qualifications in STEM subjects.

ITIL foundation is desirable, but not essential.


Recruitment Process

The first thing we will ask you to do is complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you do meet these criteria we will then ask you to begin an application.

You will need to create a log in and provide your full name, email address and a memorable password. Once you have successfully created a personal account, you will be required to complete an initial registration form, providing contact details and equal opportunities monitoring information.

You will then be invited to complete an online application form, which will consist of basic eligibility questions, sections for you to list your qualifications and work experience. As well as exploring your motivation to work for the UK Intelligence Agencies. Once complete, our recruitment team will conduct a sift of your application.

If successful, you will then conduct an online test, which will test your suitability for the role you have applied for.

If you are successful, you will be invited to an assessment centre in London to explore your suitability for one of the 18 month Apprenticeship Infrastructure Services roles on offer. If you successfully pass this stage you will be made a conditional offer of employment. This offer is made on the condition that you pass the Developed Vetting (DV) stages of the process, which will include a security interview with one of our vetting officers.

You should read about the vetting process and satisfy yourself that you meet the criteria outlined in the vetting pages of the How to Apply section prior to submitting an application. Giving misleading information or omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously. You should ensure that you follow our guidance from when you apply.

If successful in your application, you will receive a contract of employment with GCHQ, based in Central London working for the UK Intelligence Agencies, with a start date of January 2020.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme we offer an interview to all candidates with a disability who meet our minimum criteria for the job vacancy that they are applying for. This is known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS).

Along with the standard eligibility requirements for this post, your application will be assessed on how far you meet the job requirements. Your application must score the minimum amount of points set.


Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must meet our residency criteria. You must be a born or naturalised British citizen and one of your parents must be a British citizen or have substantial ties to the UK.

Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for nine out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK.

However, we will still consider you if you’ve served overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of Her Majesty’s Government, studied abroad, or lived overseas with your parents.

Due to vetting requirements, you will need to be 18 years old, or above on 01 January 2020 to apply. Your application may take around eight to ten months to process.

Owing to the sensitivity of our work, we do not publicly disclose the identities of our staff. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

The UK Intelligence Agencies are committed to reflecting both equal opportunities and the society we protect. We particularly welcome applications from women and Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates.

This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.