Finance Apprenticeship

Babcock International

Plymouth (PL1 4SG)

Closes on Thursday 12 March 2026

Posted on 2 December 2025

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Summary

Interested in finance and accountancy and want to work in a large, progressive, and diverse international business? Our 4-year Finance Apprenticeship could be the perfect fit for you. Discover a varied, fast-paced and rewarding career and play an integral role as we create a safe and secure world, together.

• Wage:

  £21,641 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

  Year 1: £21,641 Year 2: £27,412 Year 3: £32,262 Year 4: £34,086

• Training course: Professional accounting technician (level 4)
• Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

  35 hours a week

• Start date:

  Tuesday 1 September 2026

• Duration:

  3 years

• Positions available:

  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

Our Finance Apprenticeship provides significant responsibility and exciting opportunities for career progression.  
From day one, you will have a dedicated mentor who understands your business area and will support you throughout your development. You'll work on interesting projects, collaborate with key stakeholders, and deliver tangible outputs that make a difference. 
Throughout your apprenticeship, you will gain exposure to new environments and develop skills that will kickstart your career in business finance: 

• Creating and interpreting information
• Effectively communicating information to stakeholders
• Proactively managing personal development
• Working under tight deadlines and adapting to changing priorities
• Coordinating with others to meet deadlines and changing priorities
• Produce quality and accurate information
• Apply accounting and tax knowledge
• Consistently deliver high-quality and accurate data and information. 

You'll enjoy placements across a wide range of areas including Submarines, Warships, Naval Bases, Contract Management and IT projects, offering variety and insight into our operations.  

Where you'll work

Devonport Royal Dockyard
Devonport
Plymouth
PL1 4SG

Training

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

Training provider

ACCOUNTANCY LEARNING LTD

Training course

Professional accounting technician (level 4)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Collate and analyse financial information, and show how that information can be used most effectively to support value creation within an organisation.
• Apply accounting principles and adhere to legislation to ensure records are accurate and compliant with law or company policy when delivering accounting activities, such as the financial accounting of single entities, limited companies or partnerships or management accounting activities for an organisation.
• Apply professional scepticism when undertaking accounting activities to inform and evaluate decision making on the content of true and fair accounts, being alert to conditions that may indicate possible misstatement of financial information due to error or fraud, establishing the facts sensitively and being aware of unconscious bias.
• Interpret financial information for accounting purposes, such as using judgement to determine the correct way to report or account for transaction or undertaking ratio analysis.
• Participate in or support others with quality improvement activities, for example the improvement of personal working practices.
• Use software packages to assist with accounting tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
• Deliver accounting tasks with a critical eye to transactions and trends, demonstrating a ‘right first time approach’.
• Use workload management principles to plan, organise and prioritise own tasks, and manage time effectively.
• Use accounting information to add value to the organisation through use of data visualisations, analysis and interpretation, and communicate financial information in a way that facilitates understanding for non-finance stakeholders.
• Communicate accounting information through a variety of media to enable key stakeholders to understand what is required, considering the risks and benefits to the organisation of social media and other digital applications.
• Build and maintain collaborative, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver accounting tasks, recognising the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Collate and analyse financial information, and show how that information can be used most effectively to support value creation within an organisation.
• Apply accounting principles and adhere to legislation to ensure records are accurate and compliant with law or company policy when delivering accounting activities, such as the financial accounting of single entities, limited companies or partnerships or management accounting activities for an organisation.
• Apply professional scepticism when undertaking accounting activities to inform and evaluate decision making on the content of true and fair accounts, being alert to conditions that may indicate possible misstatement of financial information due to error or fraud, establishing the facts sensitively and being aware of unconscious bias.
• Interpret financial information for accounting purposes, such as using judgement to determine the correct way to report or account for transaction or undertaking ratio analysis.
• Participate in or support others with quality improvement activities, for example the improvement of personal working practices.
• Use software packages to assist with accounting tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
• Deliver accounting tasks with a critical eye to transactions and trends, demonstrating a ‘right first time approach’.
• Use workload management principles to plan, organise and prioritise own tasks, and manage time effectively.
• Use accounting information to add value to the organisation through use of data visualisations, analysis and interpretation, and communicate financial information in a way that facilitates understanding for non-finance stakeholders.
• Communicate accounting information through a variety of media to enable key stakeholders to understand what is required, considering the risks and benefits to the organisation of social media and other digital applications.
• Build and maintain collaborative, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver accounting tasks, recognising the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Training schedule

As an apprentice, you'll spend your time onsite at HM Naval Base Devonport, attending virtual training sessions, and receiving onsite visits from our training provider to assess your progress. 

From the start, you'll be working towards an AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) qualification, which will equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge for your role.  

As you work through your apprenticeship you will have the ability to gain varying levels of AAT qualifications (depending on your starting point). By the end of your apprenticeship, you may hold Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 AAT qualifications. 

You'll be enrolled in a finance-focused course and assigned a dedicated study tutor. The course covers a wide range of topics, including software, costing, and bookkeeping, with end-of-topic exams every few months. 

These exams contribute to your overall grade at the end of the year. 
With access to high-quality resources and flexible learning options, this programme allows you to apply what you learn directly to your daily work at Babcock. 

It's an excellent opportunity to combine practical experience with academic study and enhance your educational journey. 

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

• Any subject (grade 4/C or above)
• Any subject (grade 4/C or above)
• Any subject (grade 4/C or above)
• English (grade 4/C or above)
• Maths (grade 4/C or above)

A Level in:

• Any subject (grade C or above)
• Any subject (grade C or above)
• Any subject (grade C or above)

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
• Team working

Other requirements

Many of our apprenticeship programmes are subject to Security Clearance and Trade Control restrictions which mean that your place of birth, nationality, citizenship, or residency you hold or have held may impact which programmes you are eligible for. For this programme, you must be able to achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and Security Check (SC) clearance. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels

About this employer

Babcock is an international defence company providing support and product solutions to enhance our customers’ defence capabilities and critical assets. We provide through-life technical and engineering support for our customers’ assets, delivering improvements in performance, availability and programme cost. Our c27,700 employees deliver these critical services to defence and civil customers, including engineering support to naval, land, air and nuclear operations, frontline support, specialist training and asset management. We also design and manufacture a range of defence and civil specialist equipment, from naval ship and weapons handling systems to liquid gas handling systems. We also provide integrated, technology-enabled solutions to our defence customers in areas such as secure communications, electronic warfare and air defence.

https://earlycareers.babcockinternational.com/apprenticeships/ (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

• Fully funded qualification • Personal development training and opportunities • Minimum 28 days holiday allowance including bank holidays • Competitive pension scheme • Employee share scheme • Flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme

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

It’s hard to beat the variety of fantastic opportunities and business experiences you’ll receive. You can expect real world encounters and exposure to exciting projects that will really help you navigate where you want to take your career. 

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

ACCOUNTANCY LEARNING LTD

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000001802.

Apply now

Closes on Thursday 12 March 2026

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