Project Development Engineer Apprentice; National), Asset Operations

About the Role

Would you like to work for a company that makes electricity happen for every single person in England and Wales? A company that invests billions in Net Zero and creating a brighter energy future?

Imagine being paid over £30,000 a year while you train, with free food, accommodation, and travel included. The training is carried out through a combination of courses run at our Global Technical Training Centre of Excellence and on-site training.

By the end of this 3 year Higher Apprenticeship, you'll achieve a Foundation degree in Electrical Power Engineering. Most importantly, you’ll have a job waiting for you!

Join our Higher Apprenticeship programme and gain hands-on experience supporting multidisciplinary teams in planning, developing, and delivering major investments. You’ll contribute to project setup, option selection, contract awards, and technical assessments to ensure safe, cost-effective solutions. Learn to work within regulations, stakeholder expectations, and support the RIIO-T3 business plan. Comprehensive mentoring and training will help you develop professionally and technically, setting you on the path to a rewarding engineering career.

These are jobs where you’ll be drilling down into the detail on specific subjects. You will be providing technical advice and engineering support for our assets across the entire network, making significant decisions and influencing their execution.

• Coordinate and support the scheme team and stakeholders during pre-construction, ensuring timely development and approval of investment solutions.
• Help develop safe, efficient, least-cost solutions in line with regulations, and document all design and risk considerations.
• Assist with site assessments, cost estimation, tendering, and risk mitigation to enable effective project delivery.
• Monitor and control financial forecasting and reporting for investments throughout pre-construction phases.
• Ensure high-quality data management and apply lessons learned to optimise project scope, cost, and scheduling.

This is a national role for which you can be based anywhere. There is an expectation that you will have to travel into one of our substations when required.

You're driven, proactive, and always seeking ways to improve. Building on your existing knowledge and skills is second nature to you, and you have the enthusiasm to take things to the next level. Communication comes naturally to you, and you know how to adapt your approach to connect with different people.

As a flexible multitasker, you can handle multiple responsibilities while paying great attention to detail. Academic brilliance isn't the only thing we're looking for; we value practical individuals with engineering mindsets who are eager to apply themselves.

Here's what you'll need:

• Two A-Levels, with a grade of C or above in Maths or Physics, or an equivalent Level 3 qualification with a pass, which includes a Maths or Engineering module.
• Five GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, including passes in Maths and English Language (grades 4/C or above) OR a Level 2 Pass in Functional Skills.
• By the end of your first year, you’ll need a driving licence that permits you to drive in the UK.
• You’ll need to be able to live away from home during your training; primarily at our Eakring Training Centre in Nottinghamshire. You'll also spend time in Birmingham studying for your foundation degree. Typically, you’ll stay on-site from Monday to Thursday and return home for the weekend (Friday to Sunday). The amount of time spent at Eakring will decrease as you progress through the programme:

Year 1 – around 75%

Year 2 – around 50%

Year 3 – around 25%

We are proud to offer a starting salary of £31,310

As a first step to your career in the energy industry, our Higher Apprenticeship Programmes are like no other! You’ll gain an insight into how we work at National Grid, understand what a career with us can offer, and receive some great rewards and benefits:

• Work towards a Level 4 Electrical Power Networks Engineer qualification
• 26 days annual leave plus statutory holidays
• Our double-matched pension contribution scheme
• There is…