Apprentice Laboratory Scientist
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
Greater Manchester (M13 9PL)
Closes in 13 days (Tuesday 19 August 2025 at 11:59pm)
Posted on 5 August 2025
Contents
Summary
Our programme is specifically designed to help you start your career journey. We will ensure you are provided with knowledge and skills to support a wide range of scientific teaching and research laboratories, from Science and Engineering, Biology Medicine, and Health, to Humanities and our wider links with the NHS and external bodies.
- Wage
-
£23,414 a year
Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Starting salary of £23,414
- Training course
- Scientist (level 6)
- Hours
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Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm.(Variable times to suit workplace requirements). 1 hour for lunch.
35 hours a week
- Start date
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Monday 8 September 2025
- Duration
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5 years
- Positions available
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2
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
Day-to-day duties include:
- Laboratory housekeeping; including cleaning/disinfecting, making up stock solutions, stock checking and equipment maintenance
- Calibration of key instrumentation for use in both laboratories and field course studies
- Preparation of solutions, samples and standards for instrumental analysis and experimentation
- Writing risk assessments, COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) assessments and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)
- Working alongside experienced Research Technicians such as those in the prestigious National Graphene Institute (NGI)
- Working with Teaching Technicians to prepare reagents, equipment, consumables, and other resources for undergraduate/postgraduate practical classes, including the
- Molecular biology, PCR, and gel documentation
- Fluorescence microscopy & live cell imaging
- Total organic carbon (TOC) testing and spectrophotometry
- High-resolution X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) & gas chromatography
- Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI)
- DNA sequencing to identify and characterise microorganisms
- Mass spectrometry and other spectrophotometric techniques
Where you'll work
Oxford Road
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M13 9PL
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
Training course
Scientist (level 6)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Identify and apply scientific approaches to solve problems, support investigations and recommend any follow-up experiments.
- Evaluate scientific experiments using an appropriate level of qualitative and quantitative numerical analysis.
- Critically analyse data, relevant literature and input from colleagues to inform investigations.
- Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific data and present the results in written and oral form.
- Manage record keeping to ensure data integrity, traceability, confidentiality and adherence with appropriate regulatory requirements.
- Promote, enact, document, and monitor the application of quality standards, safe working practices and compliance with risk management systems relevant to the role.
- Identify opportunities to challenge assumptions and apply influencing skills to make improvements, make new proposals and build on existing ideas.
- Manage work plan, prioritise tasks and evaluate progress against objectives.
- Contribute to the development of technical projects across multi-skilled teams and share best practice across the wider business.
- Conduct complex (chemical, or physical, or biological) scientific investigations in accordance with defined company procedures and legislative requirements.
- Identify and implement continuous performance improvement using appropriate techniques.
- Ensure work meets environmental, risk management and sustainability requirements and regulations of the business sector.
- Evaluate own performance and knowledge, and set personal development goals.
- Troubleshoot equipment selection and implement sustainable solutions.
- Identify and collaborate with key stakeholders and provide technical support and advice where required.
- Identify how other roles in the organisation can contribute to achieving sustainability goals.
- Select and apply equipment, techniques, and methods to ensure reliable and accurate results.
- Undertake practical analyses and measurement and communicate the outcomes using appropriate terminology and mathematical and graphical notation.
- Use appropriate digital solutions for the collection and analysis of data, and the retrieval of appropriate information.
- Use communication methods suited to objective and audience.
- Use theoretical models, often involving approximations, to make quantitative predictions.
- Apply chemical concepts and theories to investigations.
- Design, develop and carry out chemical science investigations.
- Recommend synthetic pathways to target-compounds and design experimental activities to test predictions.
- Design and deploy purification, isolation and characterisation strategies, taking account of physicochemical properties of elements and compounds.
- Design, develop and carry out qualitative and quantitative sample preparation, chemical measurement, and analysis.
- Critically compare the results of theoretical or computational modelling with those from experiment and observation.
- Apply physics theories to solve problems that cross scientific discipline boundaries.
- Apply computational techniques to analysis and model physical behaviour.
- Apply physics concepts and theories to investigations.
- Design, develop and carry out physics based investigations.
- Use mathematical techniques and theories to solve physics problems.
- Use computer programming software to solve physics based problems.
- Critically analyse current and emerging developments in the biosciences and the contribution of Biosciences to the wider industry.
- Apply Biological concepts and theories to investigations.
- Design, develop and carry out biological investigations
- Perform tasks related to sample preparation and culturing techniques.
- Use of laboratory automation systems.
- Perform sampling with consideration for sample variation.
- Identify and apply scientific approaches to solve problems, support investigations and recommend any follow-up experiments.
- Evaluate scientific experiments using an appropriate level of qualitative and quantitative numerical analysis.
- Critically analyse data, relevant literature and input from colleagues to inform investigations.
- Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific data and present the results in written and oral form.
- Manage record keeping to ensure data integrity, traceability, confidentiality and adherence with appropriate regulatory requirements.
- Promote, enact, document, and monitor the application of quality standards, safe working practices and compliance with risk management systems relevant to the role.
- Identify opportunities to challenge assumptions and apply influencing skills to make improvements, make new proposals and build on existing ideas.
- Manage work plan, prioritise tasks and evaluate progress against objectives.
- Contribute to the development of technical projects across multi-skilled teams and share best practice across the wider business.
- Conduct complex (chemical, or physical, or biological) scientific investigations in accordance with defined company procedures and legislative requirements.
- Identify and implement continuous performance improvement using appropriate techniques.
- Ensure work meets environmental, risk management and sustainability requirements and regulations of the business sector.
- Evaluate own performance and knowledge, and set personal development goals.
- Troubleshoot equipment selection and implement sustainable solutions.
- Identify and collaborate with key stakeholders and provide technical support and advice where required.
- Identify how other roles in the organisation can contribute to achieving sustainability goals.
- Select and apply equipment, techniques, and methods to ensure reliable and accurate results.
- Undertake practical analyses and measurement and communicate the outcomes using appropriate terminology and mathematical and graphical notation.
- Use appropriate digital solutions for the collection and analysis of data, and the retrieval of appropriate information.
- Use communication methods suited to objective and audience.
- Use theoretical models, often involving approximations, to make quantitative predictions.
Training schedule
To start, we offer a unique 5-year programme filled to the brim with a wide range of technical training across a multitude of skills such as chemical analysis, material science investigation and applications, research techniques, bacterial identification techniques, aseptic techniques, microscopy, and much more.
This training will be underpinned by in-house and external courses such as pipette, centrifuge, cryogenics, COSHH, IOSH training and the list continues. All these skills will be applied to cutting-edge equipment and technology, making this the apprenticeship to beat.
Initial training is deliberately broad to teach a wide range of technical competencies allowing you time to learn and discover the variety of careers within an everchanging scientific environment.
You will spend a mixture of time working alongside a day/block release course to gain the technical skills required to carry out your duties as a Laboratory Scientist. We will provide you with all the necessary tools and equipment, uniform, and robust training to make this the apprenticeship of your choice.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
- English language (grade 4 or above)
- Maths (grade 4 or above)
A Level in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Problem solving skills
- Analytical skills
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
- Strong work ethic
- Desire to progress
- Passion for Science
Other requirements
We are strongly committed to promoting equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility and encourage all applicants to apply. Our university is positive about flexible working, blended working arrangements may be considered.
About this employer
One of the world’s leading universities built on research and teaching practices, coupled with one of the most respected apprenticeship programmes in the UK. Our programme builds its success’s year-on-year and continues to develop, matching the needs of the university and our community. We are proud of our strong reputation, supporting each of our apprentices with individualised training, specialised projects, and targeted development to build a future career at the cutting edge of technology.
https://www.apprenticeships.manchester.ac.uk/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
Generous annual leave plus closures. Pension for you and your family. Well-being, counselling, and health support. Learning and development opportunities. Transport loans, Cycle to Work schemes. Workplace nursery. Staff discounts online.
Disability Confident
A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.
You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.
After this apprenticeship
Upon completion of the apprenticeship in 5 years’ time, you will have a portfolio of key science and engineering skills and a wealth of varied, relevant experience.
Most apprentices are successful in securing a role with the university or choose to continue their academic studies. Opportunities to progress onto a higher apprenticeship or degree apprenticeship exist for high-performing candidates upon completion of their first apprenticeship with us.
Whilst we cannot guarantee a permanent position at the University of Manchester, we endeavour to match apprentices with appropriate vacancies and support them through the entire application process.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
apprenticeships@manchester.ac.uk
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000335535.
Apply now
Closes in 13 days (Tuesday 19 August 2025 at 11:59pm)
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