Clinical Laboratory Technician Apprentice

Summary

This is a fantastically exciting opportunity to train as a services laboratory technician working at the cutting edge of medical science and development. As well as preparing samples for the experimental medical research facility, you will be working in the Services Team, alongside the clinical trials unit and the Health and Safety Manager.

Wage

£25,331 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Training course

Laboratory technician (level 3)

Hours

Monday to Friday 8am - 4.30pm or 9am - 5pm although this will need to be flexible as the work can vary. One of these days will be allocated fully to the apprenticeship course run by CSR.

36 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Monday 1 September 2025

Duration

2 years

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

Some of your duties will include:

Maintenance of laboratory equipment e.g. calibration of pH meters, freezer defrosting
Basic health and safety
Operation of autoclave for making safe waste for disposal, sterilisation of glass, plasticware and media
Operation of laboratory equipment, sample preparation
Removal of waste material to waste bins
Preparation of samples for shipping
Maintaining stocks and reporting shortages
Maintaining general lab cleanliness
Full training to be provided as part of the apprenticeship

Where you'll work

Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
Windmill Road
Oxford
OX3 7LD

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

CSR SCIENTIFIC TRAINING LIMITED

Your training course

Laboratory technician (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

Comply with health and safety policies and procedures including HASWA, COSHH, risk assessments, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), manual handling, emergency procedures.
Maintain excellent housekeeping, in accordance with organisation Standard Procedures
Order and control stocks of laboratory materials where required
Identify, organise and use resources effectively to complete tasks applying the concepts of resource efficiency e.g energy, water and waste
Adhere to internal and external regulatory requirements e.g. GLP, GMP, GDP
Prepare for, and perform, laboratory experiments, tests or tasks following any specified methodologies to provide reliable, accurate data e.g. weighing, pipetting, filtering, spectroscopic techniques, chromatography techniques
Demonstrate technical competence in the use of specified instruments and equipment
Report faults and seek diagnostic advice to maintain equipment in good working order, including calibration where required
Complete documentation proficiently
Keep accurate records of laboratory work undertaken and results
Contribute to the preparation of reports.
Use simple statistical techniques for data presentation and evaluation e. g calculation of median and standard deviation, production of graphs
Demonstrate problem solving techniques including identification of sources of error and how they can be reduced e.g. human error
Use standard software packages and applications e.g. Microsoft Office suite
Use Laboratory Information Management systems to support their work
Address non-routine problems with samples and instrumentation, within defined areas
Identify relevant information from scientific sources e.g. supervisors, literature etc. in order to contribute to solutions
Participate in continuous performance improvement of systems and processes relevant to the work environment e.g. workplace organisation techniques, accreditation (e.g. ISO, UKAS) and proficiency testing.
Evaluate data, recognise and call attention to anomalous or unusual results
Comply with health and safety policies and procedures including HASWA, COSHH, risk assessments, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), manual handling, emergency procedures.
Maintain excellent housekeeping, in accordance with organisation Standard Procedures
Order and control stocks of laboratory materials where required
Identify, organise and use resources effectively to complete tasks applying the concepts of resource efficiency e.g energy, water and waste
Adhere to internal and external regulatory requirements e.g. GLP, GMP, GDP
Prepare for, and perform, laboratory experiments, tests or tasks following any specified methodologies to provide reliable, accurate data e.g. weighing, pipetting, filtering, spectroscopic techniques, chromatography techniques
Demonstrate technical competence in the use of specified instruments and equipment
Report faults and seek diagnostic advice to maintain equipment in good working order, including calibration where required
Complete documentation proficiently
Keep accurate records of laboratory work undertaken and results
Contribute to the preparation of reports.
Use simple statistical techniques for data presentation and evaluation e. g calculation of median and standard deviation, production of graphs
Demonstrate problem solving techniques including identification of sources of error and how they can be reduced e.g. human error
Use standard software packages and applications e.g. Microsoft Office suite
Use Laboratory Information Management systems to support their work
Address non-routine problems with samples and instrumentation, within defined areas
Identify relevant information from scientific sources e.g. supervisors, literature etc. in order to contribute to solutions
Participate in continuous performance improvement of systems and processes relevant to the work environment e.g. workplace organisation techniques, accreditation (e.g. ISO, UKAS) and proficiency testing.
Evaluate data, recognise and call attention to anomalous or unusual results

Your training plan

You will undertake a Level 3 Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship with an Ofsted rated 'Outstanding' training provider, CSR Scientific Training, which will include:

Fully recognised apprenticeship qualification - Level 3 Laboratory Technician
On-the-job competency training
Theoretical knowledge - BTEC Level 3 Applied Science or L4 HNC depending on previous academic attainment.

The majority of your learning will be completed online once a week with some face-to-face practical sessions/exams in Birmingham.

Upon successful completion, apprentices can apply for professional registration as a Registered Science Technician, RSciTech, with either the Royal Society of Chemistry or the Royal Society of Biology.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

x 5 including Maths, English and Science (grade C/4 or above)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
Attention to detail
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Problem solving skills
Administrative skills
Number skills
Analytical skills
Logical
Team working
Initiative
Non judgemental
Patience
Physical fitness

About this company

The largest European academic department in its field, NDORMS is part of the Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford. We run a multi-disciplinary programme of research and teaching, supported by a grant portfolio worth over £230m. Headed by Prof Jonathan Rees, we are a growing community of over 500 staff, approximately 100 post-graduate students, more than 30 professors, several university lecturers, and senior researchers . Our highly skilled team has expertise in a broad range of areas, including orthopaedic surgery, inflammation, immunology, rheumatology, medical statistics, epidemiology, data science and clinical trials. The research work of the department takes place across three world-leading research institutes: the Botnar Institute for Musculoskeletal Sciences, the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology and the Kadoorie Centre. The co-location with NHS services at Oxford's Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) puts the department in an excellent and rare position, where basic researchers work alongside clinicians. This substantially improves our research capability, improving access for researchers to patients, and facilitates the interaction between clinicians and scientists, which is essential for successful translational research.

https://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk/ (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

Over 80% of our apprentices continue with us in the role they have been trained for after their apprenticeship and that is just the start of their career.

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