Apprentice Civil Engineer

About the Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work.

We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

About the Service and Team

We are looking for two hard-working, motivated and enthusiastic people to join our apprenticeship scheme. Regardless of your age, previous experience or qualifications (although you must be at least 16 years of age and not in full-time education), we’re welcoming applications from those that show potential, determination and a drive to succeed. In return we can give you the opportunity to kick-start your career under the management of our skilled and experienced staff, whilst earning, learning and achieving nationally recognised qualifications at the same time.

Shape the future of our streets and communities. This is an exciting opportunity for an Apprentice Civil Engineer to take an instrumental role within a progressive local authority delivering meaningful, highway schemes from concept to completion. You’ll be at the heart of the full project lifecycle – from early scoping and optioneering through detailed design, procurement and hands-on construction site management – with real influence over outcomes on the ground. Working in a supportive environment, you’ll be part of a growing in-house design team and a wider, highly collaborative highways service that brings together client, commissioning, reactive, permitting and inspection teams. Here, you’ll find a welcoming workplace built on respect, collaboration and community. If you’re motivated by variety, technical challenge and the chance to see your work directly improve places and people’s everyday journeys, this role offers both professional stretch and genuine impact.

The Design team includes a range of grades from Team Lead, Principal Engineer, Senior, Engineer, Graduate, Technician and Apprentices. The wider Design & Delivery team is approximately 30 staff and includes Street Lighting, TMOs, Planned Maintenance, Vehicle Crossovers and Surveys.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

About the role

We’re looking for someone with excellent communication skills, good IT skills, good attention to detail, enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn.

About you

- Enthusiastic to learn and develop technical skills in highways & transportation.

- Undertakes own self-learning and motivated to undertake a range of tasks.

- Keen to carry out site visits and liaise with various stakeholders.

- Attention to detail to produce quality drawings and apply relevant design standards and guidelines.

- IT proficient in software packages.

- Strong problem-solving skills, logical planned thought process.

- Good Data analytical skills.

- Good communicator and team player.

Please note, in order to qualify for apprenticeship funding you must meet the following criteria:

• Hold a GCSE level C/equivalent in Maths and English and be able to present original qualification certificates - if you do not hold these qualifications/certificates you must be committed to complete these via functional skills assessments as part of the apprenticeship.
• Only apply for an apprenticeship unrelated to any qualifications they hold at the same or higher level than the apprenticeship they wish to apply for. The apprenticeship being applied for must be unrelated in subject and content from the qualification already held.
• Not be enrolled on another funded apprenticeship or another funded further education or higher education programme at the time you start your new apprenticeship.
• Have the right to work and study in England and be one of the following:

1. A citizen of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) or have the right to abode in the UK and have been resident in the EEA for at least the previous three years on the first day of your apprenticeship.
2. A non-EEA citizen with permission from the UK government to live in the UK, (not for educational purposes) and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the start of learning.

Our Offer to You

Our apprenticeships are offered on a minimum contract duration of 12 months (some are longer depending on the level of apprenticeship you undertake), offer 23 days paid annual leave, access to our online staff benefits portal (including discounts at local and national shops, restaurants and attractions), the opportunity to undertake 3 volunteering days per year in Kingston, and a minimum starting salary of £22,432 per annum. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.

In addition there are further discounts available to apprentices and more information can be found at theApprentice Extra websiteandApprenticeship Connect website.

We’re extremely proud of our apprenticeship scheme and the achievements of our apprentices, many of whom have secured permanent employment with the Council and continue to excel in their careers.

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role and for our apprenticeship scheme. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities. 
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values.
Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our