Project Management Apprenticeship
AWE PLC
Berkshire (RG7 4PR)
Closes in 12 days (Sunday 25 October 2026)
Posted on 12 October 2026
Contents
Summary
As a Project Management Apprentice at AWE, you will help support a range of important projects. This could include projects linked to AWE’s main programmes, large building and infrastructure projects, and other work that helps AWE operate and grow.
- Wage
-
£24,500 a year
Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
A starting salary of £24,500 yearly, increasing to £26,000 in Year 2, with further annual salary increases throughout your apprenticeship, subject to satisfactory performance and achievement of apprenticeship milestones.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme
• Generous paid holiday entitlement of 270 hours per year, inclusive of Bank Holidays, plus every other Friday off as part of AWE’s flexible working pattern.
- Training course
- Project manager (integrated degree) (level 6)
- Hours
-
9 day fortnight.
33 hrs on the short week, 8hrs 15 mins per day.
41 hrs on the long week, 8hrs 15 mins per day Monday to Thursday and Fridays 8hrs.
Please note hours may alter due to your offsite training establishment training times.
37 hours a week
- Start date
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Wednesday 1 September 2027
- Duration
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4 years
- Positions available
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6
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 Project Management Apprentice at AWE, you will help support a range of important projects. This could include projects linked to AWE’s main programmes, large building and infrastructure projects, and other work that helps AWE operate and grow. You will learn what project management involves, build your skills, and start to understand the areas of work you enjoy most. You will also work with different teams and subject matter experts, helping you build confidence, develop strong working relationships, and understand how large projects are delivered.
Help teams work together to deliver projects safely, on time and to the right standard. This means communicating clearly, solving problems, organising priorities, making decisions, and keeping work moving even when deadlines are challenging. You do not need to already have all these skills - you will develop them during your Project Management Apprenticeship at AWE.
This means you will learn how to plan projects, track progress, manage risks, communicate with different people, and understand how decisions affect time, cost and quality. Throughout your apprenticeship, you will build knowledge and skills in areas such as:
- Different project management methods and how to use them
- How a project moves from the first idea through to completion
- How projects are organised, including work, cost and organisational structures
- Estimating, planning and scheduling
- How projects are governed and how budgets are managed
- How to measure project progress and understand performance data
- Regular project reporting, including month-end progress updates and analysis
- Stakeholder and communications management, both with internal and external stakeholders
- Prioritising workload, resources and deadlines within high pressure complex environments
- How to manage changes to project scope, requirements and benefits
- Quality control
- How goods and services are bought for projects, and how contracts are managed
- How to identify and manage risks and opportunities, and understand how they can affect time, cost and quality
If you are interested in project work but prefer detail, data, planning ahead, tracking progress, spotting risks and helping teams make evidence-based decisions, you may want to apply to our Project Controls Level 6 Apprenticeship instead. Project Management is more focused on leading people, coordinating work, managing priorities and keeping projects moving towards the end goal, while Project Controls helps provide the insight that keeps a project on track. We recommend reading both adverts before applying so you can choose the route that best matches your strengths and interests.
Where you'll work
Atomic Weapons Establishment
Aldermaston
Reading
Berkshire
RG7 4PR
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
AWE PLC
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
Project Manager (integrated degree) Level 6.
Please note the Apprenticeship is 48-months followed by the End Point Assessment.
More training information
Due to the security requirements associated with this apprenticeship, applicants must be British Nationals and be aged 18 or over by 1 April 2027.
Please note that the training provider may not be AWE. We are currently seeking clarification and will confirm the position as appropriate.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
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
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Administrative skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Initiative
- Health and saefty awareness
- Leadership qualities
- Promoting ideas
- Decision making
Other requirements
Start Date: 1st September 2027
Annual leave will not be granted from 1st September until 1st October due to mandatory inductions you are required to complete as part of your apprenticeship. Any leave approved after this point will depend on the training provider requirements for your apprenticeship and must be agreed in advance.
These roles are governed by Health and Safety at Work Regulations and require all candidates to have an Occupational Health pre-employment medical held at AWE which follows the initial selection process. All candidates must be willing and able to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role and be willing and able to work in designated areas.
Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants.
If you choose to share information on your application form about support needs, learning differences, disabilities, health conditions or adjustments, we may contact you to understand how we can support you through the recruitment process. This information will only be used for this purpose and will be handled in line with GDPR.
Due to the security requirements associated with this apprenticeship, applicants must be British Nationals and be aged 18 or over by 1st April 2027.
About this employer
We’re a team of remarkable people, united by one extraordinary mission: keeping the UK safe and secure. The UK’s independent nuclear deterrent has existed for 75 years to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, helping to guarantee our safety, and that of our NATO allies.
Our work is critical. We’re delivering Astraea, the next warhead for the UK’s nuclear deterrent and pushing the boundaries of nuclear science and technology. But that’s just part of the story.
We support the UK government in a range of vital areas – from counterterrorism to global nuclear test monitoring to building a world-class community of experts in nuclear science. This is work that protects lives and strengthens national security.
At AWE, you’ll find more than just a job. You’ll find purpose, growth, and a community like no other. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your career to the next level, this is your chance to learn from the best, develop your skills, and be part of something truly unique.
Be extraordinary at AWE.
https://www.awe.co.uk/careers/early-careers/apprenticeships/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
- Access to employee discounts portal - everyday savings on retail, hospitality and leisure
- Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services
- Alongside these benefits, you will learn from experienced specialists in their fields while contributing to work that supports national nuclear security, threat reduction and counterterrorism
After this apprenticeship
Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).
When you complete your apprenticeship, you may have the opportunity to move into an Assistant Project Manager role. In this role, you would help deliver projects and programmes that support AWE’s mission to keep the UK safe and secure. You will work in an environment where accuracy, teamwork and forward planning are important.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
AWE PLC
Early Careers
earlycareers@awe.co.uk
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000057866.
Apply now
Closes in 12 days (Sunday 25 October 2026)
After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.