Level 3 Apprentice Project Controller

United Utilities

Lingley Mere (UU), Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, Warrington (WA5 3LP)

Closes in 9 days (Monday 23 February 2026)

Posted on 30 January 2026

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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:

  £20,000 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

  Reward and benefits – There are lots of perks, including a starting salary of £20,000, which will increase each year based on performance

• Training course: Project controls technician (level 3)
• Hours: Working hours TBC

  37 hours a week

• Start date:

  Wednesday 2 September 2026

• Duration:

  3 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

As a Level 3 Apprentice Project Controller, you’ll learn how to:

• develop a strong foundation in tracking project budgets, analysing variances, and maintaining financial accuracy, a key stepping stone in project management
• analyse data and create insightful reports, learning how these skills directly influence successful project delivery
• contribute to planning and scheduling activities, building your understanding of how to align resources, budgets, and timelines effectively
• engage with a diverse range of stakeholders, enhancing your teamwork and communication skills while gaining insight into how different roles drive project success
• gain hands-on experience with industry-standard project management software, equipping you with practical skills for future roles
• build a pathway to leadership, by working closely with project managers, you’ll gain valuable exposure to the responsibilities of project leadership, preparing you for future progression in your career

Where you'll work

Lingley Mere (UU), Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, Warrington
WA5 3LP

Training

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

Training provider

T3 TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT LTD

Training course

Project controls technician (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Develop work breakdown and coding structures to meet the scope laid out in the projects’ technical information and specification, ensuring that the controls will monitor project progress and performance accurately.
• Manage data: source, retrieve, check, edit, format, record and analyse data – using it to create relevant time, cost and resource reports.
• Estimate: develop cost estimates for defined scopes of work, create appropriate benchmarks, analyse quotes from sub- contractors and suppliers, and input to tenders and the early stages of projects.
• Schedule and plan: break down the scope into activities to create a logical linked control schedule to input to the development of outline and integrated plans and baseline schedules; identify critical milestones; gather accurate progress data for controlling the schedule; and monitor progress.
• Cost engineer and control: prepare control budgets, carry out cost control activities, gather and interpret cost data, monitor progress on a regular basis, interpret trends and forecasts; keep in line with contractual requirements, maintain baselines; ensure accurate reporting and control.
• Monitor progress/performance and analyse data: associated with milestones, schedules, progress, manpower, resource and costs; undertake earned value analysis, create progress reports and identify variances from plan and likely consequences if no corrective action is taken.
• Use computer based technology: model potential trends and resource use etc. using the right software package for the right task.
• Problem solve: recommend early corrective actions to reduce variances, identify issues and risks, present and maintain related action plans and contingencies.
• Effectively communicate: with good interpersonal skills and share the right information with the right people in an appropriate format to enable effective project control.
• Input to project closeout: generate key benchmarks and outturns including lessons learnt.
• Observe and apply professional ethics, and maintain a duty of care.
• Apply safety in the context of the role: comply with relevant national and international health, safety and environmental requirements.
• Work in accordance with company management systems, policies and procedures: especially those relating to quality, data security, risk, change and document management.

Training schedule

Your study will be day release (1 day a week delivered online)

More training information

• You’ll be an integral part of our team, contributing to the delivery of multi-billion-pound projects that make a real-world impact
• You’ll play a key role across a range of project control fundamentals, such as planning and organisation, tracking performance against schedule and budgets, and analysing data to provide insights – all which contribute towards project success
• By helping us keep these large-scale projects on schedule and within budget, you’ll gain invaluable experience and insight into the financial and operational side of project management

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)

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

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:

T3 TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT LTD

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000011638.

Apply now

Closes in 9 days (Monday 23 February 2026)

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