2026 Marine Engineer Apprentice - Turnchapel

This is a Thales UK Limited Marine Engineer Apprenticeship based at Turnchapel Wharf, Plymouth. As an apprentice you will spend most of your time working on-site, gaining hands-on experience with Thales vessels: performing maintenance, fault finding, testing and commissioning marine systems, and supporting operations and trials.

You'll work closely with the Operations team and Skippers to maintain vessel serviceability and document defects.

The apprenticeship includes substantial off-the-job training delivered by City College Plymouth leading to a Level 3 Marine Engineering qualification. The programme is delivered over multiple years with full-time college study in the first year, day-release in the second year and primarily workplace-based learning thereafter; an End Point Assessment follows completion.

Successful apprentices are offered a permanent role in Thales' marine operations at Turnchapel.

Key practical details: the role starts Monday 7 September 2026, pays £24,000 per year with performance-related uplifts, is full-time (37 hours per week: Monday-Thursday 8 hours/day, Friday 5 hours), and requires 5 GCSEs including Maths and English at grade 9-4 (A-C). The training provider is City College Plymouth.