Data Engineer Apprenticeship - Level 4

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime and migration.

If you are interested in an exciting career in data and technology and want to become a highly skilled tech professional, we are seeking 5 people who are passionate about data and technology to join our Data Engineering teams on an apprenticeship programme. If you are looking for a career change, or perhaps a school leaver looking at alternatives to full-time class-based learning this may be the perfect opportunity for you.

We are looking for candidates who want to make the most of data, love a challenge, and want to make a real difference in the quality of National Statistics. You do not have to be skilled in data engineering as full training will be provided, along with a nationally recognised qualification through an apprenticeship provider.

Do you have a desire to learn how to translate technical concepts into non-technical language and to learn what communication is required between internal and external stakeholders?

Do you have a desire to learn how to build extract transform load (ETL) pipelines that facilitate the movement and transformation of data across ONS systems?

Do you have a desire to learn how to optimise the performance of our queries and data pipelines.

Do you have a desire learn how to use industry wide tools such as Python, SQL, Cloudera Data Platform and Google Cloud Platform?

Would you like to find opportunities for innovation with new tools and uses of data?

Then we'd like to hear from you..

Please note -We will be holding a candidate information session on Monday 9th November at 12:00 noon. If you're interested in finding out more, please join here - Click here

Job description

The roles will be working in Data Products, Services and Governance (DPSG), which sits centrally within ONS, provides a cross-ONS capability for data, including data access and preparation, and the provision of data and linked data products.DPSG develops and manages the systems and processes that underpin the distribution of data across ONS and beyond. DPSG provides data to ONS, academia, wider government, and other external users in a safe and controlled way, supporting and encouraging users to maximise data utility, enabling innovation and statistical and research use.

As a Data Engineer Apprentice, you will study towards a Level 4 Data Analyst apprenticeship and combine your job and hands-on experience with virtual learning and will include one to-one with tutors and mentors, tutorials, and research projects.

You will work with appropriate technologies as a Data Engineer apprentice, you’ll gain the technical expertise to take your career in an exciting new direction. By the end of the apprenticeship, you will have achieved an industry-standard qualification and have the skills to progress your career in line with your aspirations.

Responsibilities

• Identify, collect, and migrate data to/from a range of internal and external systems.
• Use a range of analytical techniques such as data mining, time series forecasting and modelling techniques to identify and predict trends and patterns in data.
• Assist with data quality checking and cleansing and how to resolve issues.
• Assist production of data visualisation including performance dashboards and reports.
• Summarise and present the results of data analysis to a range of stakeholders
• Application of coding standards. Write clear and well documented code in Python using industry and organisational best practices
• Business Analysis/ User requirements validation;
• Matching and linking of datasets using statistical matching techniques;
• Become familiar with Cloud developments and technology

Part-time candidates will be considered, subject to a minimum of 30 hours per week, apprenticeship provider requirements and business needs.

What qualfication will I get?

The programme will be 2 years and will be delivered by assigned external training providers. The apprenticeship will support apprentices to develop their capability in data engineering. As well as training and support from the external training providers you will have support from a dedicated, highly experienced data engineering mentor.

All apprentices who successfully meet the scheme's milestones will receive a Level 4 Data Analyst Diploma.

You will gain experience to help you work towards your qualification, as well as attending formal training and other development opportunities that will consist of 20% off the job learning.

You will develop other skills that will aid you in the workplace, such as organisation, communication, the ability to work under pressure, teamwork, and lots more, giving you a real and valuable insight into the industry.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Can manage own workload, and work effectively as part of a team, to ensure deadlines or outputs are met.
• Can analyse information or evidence from a variety of sources to draw conclusions and inform decision making.
• Can communicate complex or technical ideas, both in writing and verbally, to stakeholder with differing levels of knowledge or experience.
• Identifies opportunities to make improvements and gets the support of relevant people to implement the changes.
• Takes opportunities to develop own skills and share knowledge with colleagues.
• A passion for technology and a keen technical interest.

Standard eligibility criteria for apprenticeships apply:

• You must reside and work in England or Wales.
• You must have been at least 16 years old by 31st August 2026.
• You must not already have an equivalent qualification of the same type, content, and level (or higher). (Example computer science degree)
• You must not be in fulltime education or undertaking another apprenticeship at the same time.
• You should hold a GCSE in Maths and English at Grade C or above, an equivalent qualification, or relevant experience in lieu of a qualification may be considered.

The training provider makes the final decision on whether funding can be provided per person and the job offer will be made on the condition that funding is available.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £29,545, Office for National Statistics contributes £8,559 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our valued colleagues across the organisation.

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