Level 6 Apprentice Junior Project Manager
United Utilities
Preston (PR2 5PE)
Closes in 24 days (Monday 23 February 2026)
Posted on 30 January 2026
Contents
Summary
Are you ready to live your future? Do you want to be part of building a greener, healthier, and stronger North West? Come and join us! We’ll provide you with industry-leading skills and the experience you need to succeed in your chosen field.
- Wage
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£21,000 a year
Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Reward and benefits – There are lots of perks, including a starting salary of £21,000, which will increase each year based on performance
- Training course
- Project manager (integrated degree) (level 6)
- Hours
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Monday to Friday, Shifts to be confirmed.
37 hours a week
- Start date
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Wednesday 2 September 2026
- Duration
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4 years
- Positions available
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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
As a Level 6 Apprentice Junior Project Manager, you’ll learn how to:
- Assist the project team in preparing and updating project plans, timelines, and schedules
- Track project progress and report on key milestones
- Support the coordination of project meetings, including scheduling, preparing agendas, and taking minutes
- Communicate with internal teams and external stakeholders as directed by the Project Manager
- Prepare project reports and presentations for team updates or stakeholder briefings
Where you'll work
The North Hub Preston
Preston City Park
Preston
PR2 5PE
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
BLACKPOOL AND THE FYLDE COLLEGE
Training course
Project manager (integrated degree) (level 6)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Governance Frameworks: Lead and take responsibility for the project management plan as required by the governance structure. Apply techniques and project management methodologies as appropriate, dependent upon project complexity and criticality to the organisational environment in which a project is being delivered. Maintain, review and communicate a project business case for approval through the stages of a typical project lifecycle ensuring continued value for money and continued alignment with organisational objectives.
- The Business Environment: Identify and analyse the context, opportunities and challenges presented by projects in a range of organisational settings, appreciating the differences within both large and small organisations and in different industry sectors and the consequent need for tailoring. Identify the operating constraints that apply to projects including ethical, legal and regulatory considerations. This may include the green economy and the impacts of strategies for achieving net carbon zero by 2050.
- Stakeholder and communications management: Lead and take responsibility for the identification and analysis of internal and external stakeholders and their impact on the project. Manage an effective project communication plan across stakeholders with different cultural and physical barriers. Analyse information and communicate with stakeholders incorporating elements of feedback to understand and measure the effectiveness of planned communications. Effectively listen and influence others through negotiation and persuasion.
- Control of projects in terms of time, cost and quality: Manage the project within the constraints of time, cost and quality. Control expenditure and produce status reports as required, including control of costs against budgets, forecasting, and establishing performance indicators as required by funding sources. Measure progress and actual costs against plans to determine a full understanding of project performance. Identify, achieve and maintain quality standards appropriate to the context and specific requirements of project activities.
- Risk Management: Ensure that project risks, opportunities and issues are addressed using quantitative and qualitative methods to categorise risks and their impacts. Identify, evaluate and implement appropriate mitigation strategies, ensuring that mitigation actions are incorporated into the project plan and are implemented should they develop into issues. Manage risk through the regular review of a risk management plan, adopting appropriate strategies to manage both threats and opportunities.
- Commercial and Contract management: Maintain and evaluate different commercial contract and procurement types to select appropriate options for specific programmes and projects. Support effective contract management and the achievement of programme and project outcomes.
- Project Change Control: Dependent upon the size and complexity of a project, define and apply a recognised process to manage change in projects. Make effective decisions in the interests of a range of stakeholders with regards to change requests. Handle change within different project management methodologies.
- Schedule Management: Evaluate requirements and methods for data capture and analysis in a project environment. Evaluate project schedule integrity including identification and resolution of scheduling problems. Apply resource acquisition and management techniques to balance programme and project needs against resource demand. Negotiate the allocation and scheduling of internal and external resources to meet programme and project demands.
Training schedule
- Your study will be the day-release model
- Apprentices work for their employer four days a week and dedicate one day a week to university study
More training information
- As part of your induction, you will attend a five-day residential trip to the Lake District
- This is a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills in a beautiful setting with your fellow apprentices. Accommodation and boarding will be provided
- During your apprenticeship, you may need to travel to your place of study
- If you’re not local to your place of study, accommodation will either be provided or reimbursed by United Utilities during this period (excluding weekends)
- Please consider travel requirements and staying away from home if applicable
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
- 5 GCSE's minimum or equivalent (grade A-C or 9-4)
- Maths, English and a Science or Technology subject (grade A-C or 9-4)
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
- Problem solving skills
- Team working
Other requirements
You will need a full UK driving licence at time of application, as you will be required to be mobile across a range of sites.
About this employer
United Utilities is responsible for water and wastewater services in the North West of England. From 2025-2030 we will undertake the largest investment in water and wastewater services in the North West in 100 years - that's more than £13 billion worth of projects. Now, more than ever, we need inspiring future talent to help make the North West stronger, greener, and healthier.
https://www.unitedutilities.com/corporate/careers/apprenticeships/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
- 26 days of leave (excluding bank holidays), a £500 contribution towards learning to drive, and many more benefits.
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
- Every apprentice is guaranteed a permanent position at the end of their scheme (as long as you meet all necessary standards and behaviour criteria throughout the programme)
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
BLACKPOOL AND THE FYLDE COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000011718.
Apply now
Closes in 24 days (Monday 23 February 2026)
After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.