Manufacturing Engineer Degree Apprenticeship - Safety Engineering

Help ensure the safe operation of the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet. During this five-year programme, you’ll join our Submarine Support Engineering (SSE) team in Bristol, supporting the Ministry of Defence across a range of engineering projects while gaining a fully funded degree.

As a Safety Engineering Degree Apprentice within our Submarine Support Engineering (SSE) team, you’ll gain experience across a variety of engineering teams and projects. Supported by experienced engineers, you’ll develop an understanding of how safety is managed throughout the engineering lifecycle while building your technical capability, confidence and professional judgement.

• Your typical week could include conducting hazard identification and analysis, assessing the ability of submarine systems to perform their safety functions, and evaluating risks to personnel and platforms.
• You’ll also support the design and assessment of systems and components to meet demanding operational and safety requirements.
• During your apprenticeship, you may be involved in activities such as updating Safety Cases, supporting design reviews and safety assessments, developing Bow Tie models of platform hazards, collating evidence to support certification, undertaking technical investigations and feasibility studies, and participating in platform surveys at locations including Devonport Royal Dockyard and HM Naval Base Clyde.
• You’ll develop a broad range of engineering skills while gaining experience with industry-standard safety engineering tools, including BowTieXP, Adelard Safety Case Environment and Reliability Workbench.
• You may also complete placements outside Bristol to broaden your experience and support your development.

As part of your apprenticeship, you will study for a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering with Manufacturing through the University of the West of England (UWE), accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

In year one, you’ll attend UWE’s campus two days per week, and from year two you’ll study there one day per week. Your academic learning will cover topics such as thermofluids, structural mechanics, manufacturing technology, simulation and process safety, giving you the essential knowledge to complement your work‑based learning.

In addition, you will receive training in safety engineering techniques each year throughout your apprenticeship. These courses will be delivered at either Babcock’s Bristol or Devonport sites and count towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Topics may include risk analysis and ALARP principles, Bow Tie analysis, fault tree and event tree analysis, hazard identification, and safety case writing.

By the end of your apprenticeship, you’ll be ready to step into a role within the Submarine Support Engineering (SSE) team as a degree‑qualified Safety Engineer.

You’ll also have the opportunity to build on your progress toward professional registration as an Incorporated or Chartered Engineer; a recognised benchmark of engineering competence, which can support your journey into more advanced roles, such as Senior Safety Engineer.

• You need 112 tariff points.
• GCSE:
  Grade C/4 or above in English and Mathematics, or equivalent (we accept Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Maths).
• A-level subjects:
  Grade C or above in Mathematics plus a pass in one of the following subjects:
  Biology, Chemistry, Computing/Computer Science, Design and Technology, Electronics, Engineering, ICT, Further Mathematics, Music Technology, Physics, Statistics. Points from A-level General Studies and AS-level subjects (not taken onto full A-level) can be included towards overall tariff. You must have a minimum of…