Cyber Security Apprentice

Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council

Greater Manchester (M32 0TH)

Closes in 22 days (Monday 3 November 2025)

Posted on 9 October 2025

---

Summary

You will be involved in assisting in monitoring network traffic and using SIEM tools (e.g. FortiSIEM, Microsoft Sentinel) to detect suspicious activity and triage security risks and supporting incident reporting and response, including risk assessments and vulnerability scans.

• Wage:

  £25,989 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

• Training course: Cyber security technologist (2021) (level 4)
• Hours: Days and shifts to be confirmed.

  36 hours 15 minutes a week

• Start date:

  Monday 10 November 2025

• Duration:

  1 year 8 months

• 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

• Assist in monitoring network traffic and using SIEM tools (e.g. FortiSIEM, Microsoft Sentinel) to detect suspicious activity and triage security risks.
• Support incident reporting and response, including risk assessments and vulnerability scans.
• Gain hands-on experience managing firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, patching, and software updates.
• Collaborate with IT, Legal, and other departments to ensure a unified security approach, including third-party risk assessments.
• Monitor and respond to the IT Security Queue (CVE updates, service requests, incidents, bulletins).
• Assess and manage tickets, ensuring priority issues are resolved within 48 hours.
• Handle walk-up incidents and participate in major incident responses.
• Support the ICT security incident response process and maintain the ICT Risk Register.
• Manage security dashboards (SIEM, FortiMail, FortiConsole, SOPHOS, Windows Defender).
• Oversee job assignments and SLA performance across teams.
  Support projects aligned with the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF).
• Assist in updating and maintaining IT security policies and procedures.
• Support strategic projects.

Where you'll work

Town Hall
Talbot Road
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M32 0TH

Training

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

Training provider

QA LIMITED

Training course

Cyber security technologist (2021) (level 4)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Discover vulnerabilities in a system by using a mix of research and practical exploration.
• Analyse and evaluate security threats and hazards to a system or service or processes. Use relevant external source of threat intelligence or advice (e.g. National Cyber Security Centre) Combine different sources to create an enriched view of cyber threats and hazards.
• Research and investigate common attack techniques and relate these to normal and observed digital system behaviour and recommend how to defend against them. Interpret and demonstrate use of external source of vulnerabilities (e.g. OWASP, intelligence sharing initiatives, open source).
• Undertake security risk assessments for simple systems without direct supervision and propose basic remediation advice in the context of the employer.
• Source and analyse security cases and describe what threats, vulnerability or risks are mitigated and identify any residual areas of concern.
• Analyse employer or customer requirements to derive security objectives and taking account of the threats and overall context develop a security case which sets out the proposed security measures in the context with reasoned justification.
• Identify and follow organisational policies and standards for information and cyber security and operate according to service level agreements or other defined performance targets.
• Configure, deploy and use computer, digital network and cyber security technology.
• Recommend improvements to the cyber security posture of an employer or customer based on research into future potential cyber threats and considering threat trends.
• Write program code or scripts to meet a given design requirement in accordance with employers' coding standards.
• Identify cyber security threats relevant to a defined context.
• Accurately, objectively and concisely record and report the appropriate cyber security information, including in written reports within a structure or template provided.
• Design, build, test and troubleshoot a network incorporating more than one subnet with static and dynamic routes, to a given design requirement without supervision. Provide evidence that the system meets the design requirement.
• Analyse security requirements given (functional and non-functional security requirements that may be presented in a security case) against other design requirements (e.g. usability, cost, size, weight, power, heat, supportability etc.) for a given system or product. Identify conflicting requirements and propose, with reasoning, resolution through appropriate trade-offs.
• Design and build, systems in accordance with a security case within broad but generally well-defined parameters. This should include selection and configuration of typical security hardware and software components. Provide evidence that the system has properly implemented the security controls required by the security case.
• Design systems employing encryption to meet defined security objectives. Develop and implement a plan for managing the associated encryption keys for the given scenario or system.
• Use tools, techniques and processes to actively prevent breaches to digital system security.
• Configure digital system monitoring and analysis tools (e.g. SIEM tools), taking account of threat & vulnerability intelligence, indicators of compromise.
• Conduct cyber-risk assessments against an externally (market) recognised cyber security standard using a recognised risk assessment methodology.
• Develop information security policies or processes to address a set of identified risks, for example from security audit recommendations.
• Develop information security policies within a defined scope to take account of legislation and regulation relevant to cyber security.
• Take an active part in a security audits against recognised cyber security standards, undertake gap analysis and make recommendations for remediation.
• Develop plans for local business continuity for approval within defined governance arrangements for business continuity.
• Assess security culture using a recognised approach.
• Design and implement a simple ‘security awareness’ campaign to address a specific aspect of a security culture.
• Develop plans for incident response for approval within defined governance arrangements for incident response.
• Integrate and correlate information from various sources (including log files from different sources, digital system monitoring tools, Secure Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools, access control systems, physical security systems) and compare to known threat and vulnerability data to form a judgement based on evidence with reasoning that the anomaly represents a digital system security breach.
• Recognise anomalies in observed digital system data structures (including by inspection of network packet data structures) and digital system behaviours (including by inspection of protocol behaviours) and by inspection of log files and by investigation of alerts raised by automated tools including SIEM tools.
• Undertake root cause analysis of events and make recommendations to reduce false positives and false negatives.
• Manage local response to non-major incidents in accordance with a defined procedure.
• Discover vulnerabilities in a system by using a mix of research and practical exploration.
• Analyse and evaluate security threats and hazards to a system or service or processes. Use relevant external source of threat intelligence or advice (e.g. National Cyber Security Centre) Combine different sources to create an enriched view of cyber threats and hazards.
• Research and investigate common attack techniques and relate these to normal and observed digital system behaviour and recommend how to defend against them. Interpret and demonstrate use of external source of vulnerabilities (e.g. OWASP, intelligence sharing initiatives, open source).
• Undertake security risk assessments for simple systems without direct supervision and propose basic remediation advice in the context of the employer.
• Source and analyse security cases and describe what threats, vulnerability or risks are mitigated and identify any residual areas of concern.
• Analyse employer or customer requirements to derive security objectives and taking account of the threats and overall context develop a security case which sets out the proposed security measures in the context with reasoned justification.
• Identify and follow organisational policies and standards for information and cyber security and operate according to service level agreements or other defined performance targets.
• Configure, deploy and use computer, digital network and cyber security technology.
• Recommend improvements to the cyber security posture of an employer or customer based on research into future potential cyber threats and considering threat trends.
• Write program code or scripts to meet a given design requirement in accordance with employers' coding standards.
• Identify cyber security threats relevant to a defined context.
• Accurately, objectively and concisely record and report the appropriate cyber security information, including in written reports within a structure or template provided.

Training schedule

Why choose our Cyber Security Engineer Level 4 apprenticeship?

The Cyber Security Engineer apprentice can help to design, build and test secure networks, security products or systems to help protect your organisation against cyber threats.

QA is a market leader in cyber security training, with a state-of-the-art immersive cyber gamified learning, giving apprentices a hands-on learning experience in simulating a real cyber threat.

QA's exclusive partnership with Circadence Corporation, the pioneer of the hands-on gamified learning platform Project Ares®, allows us to uniquely incorporate hands-on scenario training into our cyber security apprenticeships. The Project Ares platform offers a totally immersive experience, using automated features to support skills adoption with an in-game advisor, Athena, who advises our players through scenario-based challenges. The platform scenarios replicate the unpredictability and escalating levels of complexity that cyberattacks can present. It drives high levels of engagement through leaderboards and badges, elements used widely in the gaming world.

QA’s Cyber Security Engineer Level 4 apprenticeship programme enables the apprentice to:

• Develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills in a safe, but realistic environment
• Apply all of the acquired skills throughout the programme, with added scoring of players and opponent actions with replay for object assessment
• Take part in hands-on training and active-learning models that increase retention rates by 75% so that cyber apprentices can prepare for real-world challenges

Tools and technologies learned:

Apprentices will learn to use Project Ares, Python, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft PowerShell, Linux and AWS.

Requirements

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Problem solving skills
• Number skills
• Team working
• Driving licence & own vehicle

Other requirements

There are entry requirements to this apprenticeship - please click to apply to see the full list of requirements on the QA website.

About this employer

At Trafford Council we are EPIC! We EMPOWER – We inspire and trust our people to deliver the best outcomes for our customers, communities and colleagues. We are PEOPLE CENTRED – We value all people, within and external to the organisation and give those around us respect. We will act with honesty and integrity in all that we do and create an environment that enables everyone we work with to thrive and succeed. We are INCLUSIVE – We are committed to creating an environment that values and respects the diversity and richness differences bring. We COLLABORATE – We build relationships, collaborate; treat people as equal partners and work together to make things happen. Trafford is a lively, prosperous place to put down roots and build a career. The council and Trafford schools employ around 8,000 people, who are central to making the area great. In return for their commitment, the council offers its employees development opportunities, as well as a fair and flexible workplace. The council is a Living Wage Employer.

Company benefits

You will be welcomed into a friendly environment where your personal and professional development will be encouraged. We also offer hybrid working.

After this apprenticeship

90% of QA apprentices secure permanent employment after completing: this is 20% higher than the national average.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

QA LIMITED

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000345197.

Apply now

Closes in 22 days (Monday 3 November 2025)

Sign in with your GOV.UK One Login to apply.

After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.