Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship (Vehicle Mechanics)

Programme title: Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship (Vehicle Mechanics)

Level: 3

Salary:

Year 1: £19,455

Year 2: £20,821

Year 3: £24,493

Location: Bovington, Dorset

Application closing date: 12th March 2026

Programme start date: September 2026

Role ID: 67875

About the programme

As a Babcock Defence Support Group (DSG) Technical Apprentice on our Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship, you’ll work on a wide range of Military Land Equipment, tackling challenging and varied tasks in an exciting environment. Your work will play a crucial role in ensuring the armed forces have equipment they can depend on.

No two days are the same as you provide vital services that assist critical military exercises and training. It's a chance to launch a career that makes a real difference to national security.

Apprentices will be trained to a Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician apprenticeship standard (Vehicle Mechanics) to achieve a fully accredited Level 3 qualification. The academic aspects of the apprenticeship will be delivered off-site. The rest of the time, you'll be working from your selected home location, with opportunities to work from alternate sites for brief periods to broaden your overall experience.

Your education/training

Your apprenticeship will follow the Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician standard to qualify with an Advanced Apprenticeship.

During your apprenticeship, in both an academic setting and through practical experience in the workplace, you will:

• Develop practical skills and skills working with hand tooling.
• Gain a full understanding of how machines work, including how to service, maintain, diagnose, and repair a wide range of military vehicles.
• Understand technical information and diagrams.
• Be able to write reports, describing the repairs and services you have carried out.
• Understand and follow health and safety regulations.

Additionally, you will be given the opportunity to gain extra professional competencies.

Future prospects

Upon completion of the programme, you’ll be prepared to take on the role of a Heavy Vehicle Technician at Babcock.

You may also have the opportunity to pursue higher-level qualifications to further your career within Babcock across a variety of roles and functions.   

What you’ll need 

• GCSE grade 4 or above in Maths and English.
• Able to demonstrate, through testing, an aptitude and understanding of mechanical or electrical components and engineering.
• Be capable of carrying out instructions accurately and methodically.
• Demonstrate the ability to work in a team.
• Demonstrate knowledge and application of IT.
• Many of our apprenticeship programmes are subject to Security Clearance and Trade Control restrictions which mean that your place of birth, nationality, citizenship, or residency you hold or have held may impact which programmes you are eligible for. For this programme, you must be able to achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and Security Check (SC) clearance. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What you’ll get

We will provide you with a supportive and engaging environment where you can grow your career.

In addition, you’ll benefit from:

• Fully funded qualification
• Personal development training and opportunities
• Minimum 28 days holiday allowance including bank holidays
• Competitive pension scheme
• Employee share scheme
• Flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme and employee shopping savings portal
• Attractive overtime rates of pay

You’ll also have the chance to get involved in our STEM outreach activities and volunteering opportunities, which our apprentices find incredibly rewarding.

Your career development

It’s hard to beat the variety of fantastic opportunities and business experiences you’ll receive. You can expect real world encounters and exposure to exciting projects that will really help you navigate where you want to take your career.

Plus, when you join us, you’ll be automatically enrolled onto our Apprentice Development Programme. Through a series of digital and face to face sessions, presented by wellbeing and performance experts and our external partners, we will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to thrive and perform at your very best on your programme and beyond.

Application process and closing dates  

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and the programme may close early if we receive a high volume of interest. To give yourself the best chance of being considered, we strongly recommend submitting your application and completing any required online assessments as soon as possible.