Apprentice Medical Laboratory Assistant (Laboratory Technician)

North Bristol NHS Trust

Bristol (BS10 5NB)

Closes in 14 days (Tuesday 17 March 2026)

Posted on 3 March 2026

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Summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Cellular Pathology Department as an Apprentice Medical Lab Assistant! We're seeking an individual who is passionate about progressing in a healthcare science career with a particular interest in Cellular Pathology.

• Wage:

  £24,465 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

  You willl rise to band 3 after the sucessful completion of the apprenticeship

• Training course: Laboratory technician (level 3)
• Hours: Monday - Friday, 9.00am - 5.00pm.

  37 hours 30 minutes a week

• Start date:

  Monday 13 April 2026

• 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

You will be involved in the day-to-day support work of the Histopathology laboratory, including:

• Participate in the receipt and recording of specimens
• Participate in data input to laboratory computer
• Undertake the storage and disposal of tissues in accordance with departmental procedures
• Participate in and assist others in the preparation, cleaning, decontamination of equipment and working areas and maintenance of laboratory equipment
• To perform general laboratory duties, e.g. checking instruments, recording temperatures
• Participate in the management of supplies in the department
• Be responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and cleanliness of the equipment and environment with which they are working.
• Accurately maintain filing systems for request forms, reports, slides and tissue blocks and facilitate their transportation to archive sites within the hospital but outside the department.
• File and retrieve records and slides
• Input and retrieve data from departmental and other IT systems
• Deal with telephone enquiries to the department and from within the department
• Notify senior staff of all problems encountered in the performance of duties
• Work according to the Standard Operating Procedures as documented
• Work within established Health and Safety guidelines
• To maintain safe and efficient standards of work, following codes of practice
• To participate in staff appraisal / PDP according to Trust policies and procedures
• Assisting the MLA team with wider duties where experience and training allow

Where you'll work

Southmead Hospital
Westbury on Trym
Bristol
Bristol
BS10 5NB

Training

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

Training provider

CSR SCIENTIFIC TRAINING LIMITED

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

Training schedule

The Level 3 Laboratory Technician apprenticeship will be delivered remotely from our trusted education partner CSR.  You will be given time in your working day to attend lessons once per moth and will have an allocated tutor and workplace mentor.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

• Any additional subject (grade C/4)
• English (grade C/4)
• Maths (grade C/4)
• Science (grade C/4)

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
• Customer care skills
• Problem solving skills
• Presentation skills
• Administrative skills
• Number skills
• Analytical skills
• Logical
• Team working
• Initiative
• Non judgemental
• Patience

About this employer

There are over 12,000 reasons why North Bristol NHS Trust is a place to be #NBTProud of. We support and care for every member of staff, every carer, every visitor, and will always put the patient first.

https://www.nbt.nhs.uk/ (opens in new tab)

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

Dependant on role availability there may be senior roles that can be progressed to after this apprenticeship.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

North Bristol NHS Trust

Rebecca Woodward

rebecca.woodward@nbt.nhs.uk

0117 4149832

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000018778.

Apply now

Closes in 14 days (Tuesday 17 March 2026)

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