Programme jobs in United Kingdom

The Met Office is delighted to open our advertising for Apprenticeships 2026.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Met Office as a Software Tester Apprentice for up to 18 months commencing at the start of September 2026. You will develop skills and workplace experience in this occupation which may lead to a permanent position on successful completion of your apprenticeship or the knowledge to gain employment within the wider industry.

As our Software Tester Apprentice, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home.This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work. As apprentices are part of our Early Careers Programme, there is the expectation you attend the office once a week as a minimum in addition to your study day.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week.Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we'll do our best toagreea working pattern that works for everyone.

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re aforcefor good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart ofdecision-making
• We’re bettertogether-understandingpartnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

This apprenticeship can offer you the support, training and industry recognised qualifications to get you on the path to a career in Software Testing.

You will join the Ouroboros Squad in Hazards & Resilience, working with the team to deliver and test high priority applications forecasting flooding and disseminating weather warnings to emergency responders, such as the fire services, police and local councils. The work you will do is important and will help people keep save and thrive.

We would look for you to join us in September 2026 with your apprenticeship training beginning in November.

You will be managed by a line manager and have a mentor to offer further support. You will have on the job training and in house development opportunities during your apprenticeship.

You will have 1 day per week dedicated to your 20% off the job training with the training provider, BPP. They will deliver the off the job training in an online style. You will have a tutor(s) delivering learning sessions in 2-3 day blocks each month, along with 1-2-1 coaching sessions on a monthly basis. You will also have regular review meetings with your tutor and line manager every 3 months. There may also be a classroom based "hackathon" session towards the end of the training and prior to completing your EPA.

As well as the taught content, there will be a large amount of self-study, regular assignments, and an end-point assessment period. You must be committed to your own development and training as this element forms a significant aspect of a modern apprenticeship.

Please note: Before applying, we recommend you consider if the delivery method suits your learner needs. We would also recommend you look at the information about the apprenticeship on the training providers website as well as researching the requirements of an apprenticeship to help you decide whether an apprenticeship is right for you.

• Spend a substantial portion of time collaborating with others to complete testing activities
• Work with other testers to create test documentation such as test results and test plans
• Build your knowledge on the software development cycle from a testing perspective
• Help encourage a test-driven approach to development
• Develop automated tests

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We are also featured on their ‘Best Workplaces in Tech’ 2023 and 2024 lists, as well as their ’54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list.

As our Apprentice Software Tester Level 4, your starting salary will be £24,310 and you will have the opportunity to progress to £25,740 over time.

Your total reward package is potentially worth up to £34,675 annually, which includes basic salary, potential corporate bonus and employer pension contributions.

We also offer:

• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave
• Access to discounted shopping, inclusive of retail, leisure and lifestyle brands

• A logical thinker who enjoys solving problems and approaching challenges methodically. (Lead criteria)
• A curious learner who is interested in information technology, is eager to understand how software powers the Met Office and industry, with a willingness to learn new concepts, tools and technologies. (We're experts by nature)
• A detail-orientated individual who is comfortable working with structured tasks and accuracy
• A collaborative team player who thrives in group projects and communicates effectively (We're better together)
• Is adaptable and resilient and ready to learn new tools and concepts in a fast paced environment (We keep evolving)

The panel may perform a preliminary sift of the lead criteria as indicated above.

In addition to the criteria listed above, you must also be eligible to qualify for apprenticeship funding by meeting the following:

• Not be enrolled on another funded apprenticeship or another funded further education or higher education programme at the time you start this apprenticeship.
• Are applying for an apprenticeship that is unrelated to any qualifications you already hold at the same or higher level than this apprenticeship.
• Are living in England at the time the apprenticeship commences

Please note: suitability and eligibility will also need to be verified by the training provider.

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application.

Please complete your career history (this could include voluntary or work experience roles) and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills. Please read the Early Careers Programmes Application Guidance at the bottom of this advert for more guidance.

We welcome applications that use AI tools for support in drafting or refining, as long as they accurately reflect your own skills and experience. All hiring decisions at the Met Office are made by people, not AI. For more details, visit our approach to recruitment .

Closing date: 23:59 8th March 2026. Please note we often receive a high volume of applications, but we will contact everyone who applies once the closing date has passed.

Interviews will be completed by end of April 2026.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at careers@metoffice.gov.uk .

If you’re considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us.Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the DisabilityConfidentScheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

Weunderstand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible, 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact us at: careers@metoffice.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: info@csc.gov.uk

Our rewards and benefits are as varied as our customers and our people, depending on your role, and which part of the business you join. The one thing they have in common is that they’re designed to recognise your contribution to our success.

Starting at 27.5 days and rising to 32.5 days after five years (both figures exclude bank holidays). As well as the flexibility to buy or sell annual leave annually.

You’ll automatically qualify to join our alpha pension scheme, part of the Civil Service Pension arrangements. The scheme is recognised as one of the most generous occupational pensions.

We’ll invest in your training and personal development throughout your career to help you reach your potential. We provide you with the space and freedom to think, innovate and try new things and have professional frameworks aligned to each area. We encourage and support professional memberships, have an array of internal apprenticeship and qualification opportunities and a comprehensive mentoring and coaching programme to name just a few initiatives to create your world of development at the Met Office!

We can help towards the purchase of bicycles and equipment for healthy, low carbon travel via a salary sacrifice scheme.

Whether you wish to utilise our excellent family-friendly schemes, be paid up to 3 days for volunteering with your chosen organisation, have the reassurance of a generous sickness pay scheme or be part of an organisation that is happy to pro-actively talk about flexible working the Met Office wants you to have a great work and lifestyle balance.

We have bases all over the UK and some roles allow for you to work abroad so there is the option to travel for work also, we have established amazing hybrid working practices across all of our offices and have enhanced technology to enable office and home-based meetings. We work with employees to agree on a suitable working pattern that works for us both and have various working patterns in place.

We offer onsite free parking at our main offices with disabled parking spots also available. We are ever expanding our eCharging stations and have these available for use at most sites.

We offer an enhanced discount shopping portal and schemes for employees to make everyday savings including retail shopping such as your weekly food shops, technology products, DIY projects, travel and trips as well as active lifestyle options. We also have an instant recognition scheme with the potential for you to receive vouchers for when you have gone the extra mile to demonstrate our Met Office Values.

Across our offices we have an array of different options to support your wellbeing including 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with phone and app provisions, lots of EDI initiatives to empower our diverse workforce and a dedicated wellbeing network with regular events to help you thrive!

Our force for good value aligns perfectly with our support for environmental impact improvements. We were the first public sector body to be awarded the prestigious Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark Award and have different initiatives across our sites from our beautiful biodiversity butterfly garden, toilet water provided from the cooling of our epic supercomputer, car share schemes, team beach clean events and extensive recycling facilities for our everyday use.

We have a fantastic group of employee volunteers who form our Mental Health First Aiders as well as Dignity & Respect at Work groups. Alongside our EAP they are in the office or a remote call away to support with a listening ear and can signpost you to helpful resources and support.

We recognise the benefits that networks can offer to our employees not only in terms of better together peer support but also in raising awareness of the challenges some of our employees may experience, and we know that people perform better when they can be themselves.

The world around us is constantly changing. New technologies, shifting climate patterns, artificial intelligence. These factors and more shape the need for us to develop our skills and knowledge as a business and as individuals. Our investment in learning and development is testament to this and we have partnered with external bodies in each profession to help shape the way we develop the incredible talent right across the Met Office. We help everyone to understand their strengths and opportunities and tailor learning programmes that match their career. For us, this is world-leading learning and development.

Accessibility Specialist (previously Digital Accessibility Apprentice)

From the day I arrived, I knew I would be able to bring my whole self to work. The support I’ve been given has enabled me to take back control of my life and begin building a career for myself. My recent involvement in our first-ever Empathy Lab allowed me to share my understanding of digital accessibility, give something back to the Met Office and make a difference. Read my story

Project Manager (previously Project Management Apprentice)

I arrived in 2021 as a project management apprentice and the Met Office was my first employer when I finished university. I worked in the Defence Capability Programme learning the profession first-hand whilst working towards my project management qualification. After I finished in September 2023, I was promoted to a permanent level one project manager position. I now work on a huge range of projects such as Joint Agency Modelling, Change Readiness, Public Weather Service, and Financial Efficiencies.

Communications Executive (previously Comms Apprentice)

Throughout my apprenticeship, my team and line manager supported me to develop both personally and professionally. I was always able to rely on those I worked with to be an amazing resource of knowledge to help me improve my skills. Read my story

I’ve had the opportunity to work on some fantastic projects that have a real purpose. I helped with the complete upgrade of the UK land-based automatic weather stations, which gives me a sense of pride when I watch the weather forecasts on TV now. When they list where rainfall, temperature or wind speeds have been recorded, often I can say “I’ve been there” or “I upgraded that weather site.”

Ruby Featherby

Employee Experience Associate (previously Employee Experience Apprentice)

Doing an apprenticeship with the Met Office was one of the best decisions I made. The Met Office pushed me and nurtured me to grow as an employee and a person, allowing me to thrive. I cultivated a deep passion for my work and developed skills for life. Read my story

For those living outside of the UK, there are some roles where we can sponsor Skilled Worker visas. However, you will still need to pass security clearance which requires you to have resided in the UK for 30 months in the last three years.

Apply through our careers website. Each application will be assessed against the essential criteria detailed in the job advert. We recommend that you use the CARL or STAR method to answer the key questions. Evidence your answers and reference our values to bring your application to life.

The sift panel will assess all applications against our essential criteria. Our screening process usually takes one to two weeks following the closing date of the advert. After which, we'll be in touch to let you know whether your application has progressed to the next stage.

Most recruitment processes will include a single-stage interview, some of which are virtual interviews and some may be in-person. Our interviews tend to blend competency questions, which focus on the essential criteria, with values-based questions.

Some roles may require you to attend an assessment day. Any job-specific assessments will be outlined in the job advert and more details will be provided at the interview stage.

If you are successful following the interview, the hiring manager will contact you to offer the role. The Resourcing Team will then follow up with an offer letter and start your onboarding.

Before we can confirm a start date, we will first need to complete security clearance and reference checks. These usually take between eight to ten weeks to complete. We'll also discuss any workplace adjustments that you may need. So they are in place on your first day.

On your first day your new manager will introduce you to the team and you’ll start our online corporate induction. You’ll also be asked to update your details in our People Hub system including bank details ready for your first pay day.

Software Tester Apprenticeship - Level 4

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