Laboratory Technician Apprentice

Summary

We are seeking a Laboratory Technician Apprentice to work within the cleanroom laboratories. The successful applicant will be trained in good laboratory and cleanroom practice and in specialist processing, including reactive-ion etching, optical lithography and material deposition. There will also be an element of associated equipment maintenance.

Wage

£20,000 a year

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Pay is reviewed annually on 1st April

Training course

Laboratory technician (level 3)

Hours

Monday - Friday, 8.00am - 4.00pm. Opportunity to adjust hours within reason. No evenings. No weekends.

37 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Monday 1 September 2025

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

Duties will include:

Chemically etching silicon wafers
Cutting silicon wafers on a specialist dicing saw
Inspecting, analysing and measuring thin coatings using metrology tools
Reactive ion etching of lithographic patterns
Associated equipment maintenance

Where you'll work

INSIGHT PARK
WELSH ROAD EAST
SOUTHAM
WARWICKSHIRE
CV47 1NE

Training

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

College or training organisation

CSR SCIENTIFIC TRAINING LIMITED

Your 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

Your training plan

You will undertake a Level 3 Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship with an Ofsted rated 'Outstanding' training provider, CSR Scientific Training, which will include:

Fully recognised apprenticeship qualification - Level 3 Laboratory Technician
On-the-job competency training
Theoretical knowledge - BTEC Level 3 Applied Science (if required)

The majority of your learning will be completed online once a week with some face-to-face practical sessions/exams in Birmingham (if BTEC is included).

Upon successful completion, apprentices can apply for professional registration as a Registered Science Technician, RSciTech, with either the Institute of Physics, Royal Society of Chemistry or Royal Society of Biology.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

x 5 including Maths, English and Science (grade C/4 or above)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

IT skills
Attention to detail
Number skills
Logical
Team working

About this company

Silson Ltd is a manufacturer of specialist consumables for use, primarily, in x-ray and electron beam scientific research. The company has an extensive in-house cleanroom-based microfabrication facility in Southam, Warwickshire where it produces the products and sells them to over 1000 customers in more than 50 countries world-wide. Silson is a small, family-owned business that has been established for over 30 years, currently with 7 employees and a dog-friendly office.

https://silson.com/ (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

The company hopes that the apprentice will remain at Silson as a production engineer once the apprenticeship is completed.

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