About Us

We are MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. MI5 gathers intelligence from within the UK, MI6 gathers intelligence from overseas, and GCHQ brings intelligence and technology together. We help to protect the UK from a range of serious threats – everything from terrorism to organised crime, to cyber-crime and espionage.

The Role                

Technology sits at the heart of everything we do at MI5, enabling us to disrupt serious threats to UK national security. We're currently looking for people who have the passion to learn and grow their skills, while working in a supportive environment. Over the course of the three years you’ll enjoy exciting, hands-on work to help us build and maintain some of the world’s most sophisticated electronic equipment, all the while working towards a BSc Honours Degree in Digital and Technology Solutions (Software development). You’ll be a vital part of a team that ensures the UK Government can operate in cyber space with confidence and can stay ahead of the pace demanded by the evolving digital world.

Working as a Software Engineering Apprentice you’ll have placements in various multi-disciplinary product teams; working alongside product owners, business analysts and agile delivery colleagues that will offer you a unique insight into the work of the intelligence agencies. You'll collaborate with colleagues and work in teams to build technology that will help catch criminals, expand our technical capability and improve our ability to tackle threats to national security. As our work is constantly evolving, you’ll learn and work with some of the most advanced technology, as well as develop a broad range of competencies including teamwork, communication and leadership skills.  We make use of modern approaches and cloud technologies such as AWS and Azure. Our tech stacks vary between products (Java, C#, React.js, Oracle, Mongo, Elastic Search and Hadoop) but don’t rule yourself out if you’re not familiar with these as there is a vast amount of support from our experienced engineers along with certifications, training and the degree to help you along the way.
 
About You

To join the Apprenticeship, starting in Autumn 2022, you’ll have an interest in programming and technology and you’ll have (or are expecting to have by September 2022) 72 UCAS points, along with GCSE grade 4/C or above in English language and maths or equivalent functional skills (Level 2). If you have a passion for Technology and are keen to learn, then we would welcome an application from you.

Training and Development

You’ll take on real business challenges in software engineering and receive full training and support throughout the programme.

The Apprenticeship combines university accredited classroom learning in person and virtually with technical training, mentoring and job shadowing, research and development, and work-based placements and projects.

We'll enable you to grow your skills and perform to the best of your abilities. Supported by our collaborative learning environment, you'll soon be working on projects that help keep Britain safe. At the end of your Apprenticeship, you could be considered for full-time employment.

MI5 are proud of our inclusive and supportive working environment that's designed to encourage open minds and attitudes. As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we're committed to helping you fulfil your potential.

Rewards and Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £22,889 (Manchester) or £24,385 (London) plus other benefits including:

-    25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays.
-    Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
-    Personal Learning Budget.
-    Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs
-    Interest-free season ticket loan
-    Excellent pension scheme
-    Cycle to work scheme
-    Secure parking
-    Facilities such as a subsidised gym and restaurant, and (on some sites) on-site coffee bars
-    Paid parental and adoption leave
-    If successful, you’ll gain a Level 6 BSc Honours Degree in Digital and Technology Solutions

Culture and Working Environment

As part of our team, you’ll discover an inclusive workplace that’s welcoming, supportive and encouraging. You’ll be part of an organisation where people want to support one another and make a difference. Aside from fostering an open culture, we’ve got a range of growing affinity groups. For example:  
 
•    Ethnic Minority and gender equality networks
•    Groups supporting wellbeing, mental health, neurodiversity and disability
•    Faith/No Faith communities for staff to come together
•    LGBTQ+ support networks

You’ll also find a variety of sports, activity, interest and social groups to help you settle in and connect with people with similar interests.

Before You Apply

To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen. We do have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Honesty and integrity are really important if you want to work at MI5. Take some time to read about the vetting process and make sure you meet the criteria in the vetting pages of the ‘How to Apply’ section. The process can take some time, but this is just because it’s thorough. Giving misleading information and omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously.

The role is based in London or Greater Manchester, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application.

Equal Opportunities

At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.

We’re Disability Confident

MI5 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme.  This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.  Being Disability Confident, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview where practicable; this is known as ‘Offer of an Interview’. To secure an interview for this vacancy, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

•    Eligibility Questions – You will be asked a series of questions relating to the role and working for this organisation. If you meet the criteria here, you will be directed to the initial application form.
•    Online Tests – You will be required to reach the pass mark set for our online test.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. One of your parents must be a British Citizen or must have the nationality or citizenship from our approved list of countries (for more info click here).

If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered (for more info click here).

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

You can apply at the age of 17 years and 6 months, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday.

Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside of the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. Further information on our eligibility criteria can be found on the Applying section.

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

•    Application Stage – This will test your eligibility and involve you answering competency-based questions.
•    Aptitude Test – This is designed to test your potential for a Software Engineering role
•    Assessment Centre – This will consist of competency interviews and a group exercise.   

To apply for this position, you must meet our nationality, residency and security requirements. You'll find more details here: . As users of the disability confident scheme, we also guarantee to interview all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for our roles.
 
Be prepared to dedicate 60-90 minutes to completing your application. We're conscious this might be more time than you expected, so our system will allow you to save your application at any time and come back to it later. But remember to submit your full application before the closing date.
 
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Our Vetting

To work in this role you will need the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community has to go through and it can take some time. As part of the DV process you will be asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire and attend an interview with a vetting officer. In your interview the vetting officer will have a thorough, compassionate and honest discussion with you about you as a person and your life experiences, to ensure holding a DV clearance is right for you. You don’t need to do any preparation for your vetting interview, just be honest and be yourself. All applicants for DV are treated impartially and consistently, irrespective of gender, race, disability, religion, age, sexual-orientation and other protected characteristics.

Right to Withdraw Statement:

Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.