Higher Apprenticeship trainee route
Build your future with Wates to develop your skills, gain industry experience and progress your career.
Our structured three-year higher apprentice trainee programme will give you the foundations you need to build your career. You will receive a bespoke development plan, industry recognised qualifications and mentoring and support throughout.
Once you’ve successfully completed your programme, you will progress into the next stage of your career at assistant manager level.
UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL
What we’re looking for…
To join us as a higher apprentice, you must have GCSEs grade 4/C or above in both Maths and English. We also require you to have at least 2 A levels, or equivalent, (for example, Level 3 BTEC qualification, T-level etc.), at grades DD or above.
You don’t need previous work experience. However, you must show you can work in a team, collaborate and communicate with others, and take a proactive approach to your career.
Technical and behavioural development.
During the programme, we will give you the tools, guidance, and support to develop your technical knowledge in your role. Our aim is to give you the confidence, and know-how, to perform the best you can in your role.
Behaviours, attitude, and values are equally as important. You will attend fun and engaging workshops throughout the programme, focussed on providing you with powerful insights, to align with our professional standards.
You will complete several placements as part of our programme, to get a well-rounded view of a project’s life cycle. Placements will last a few weeks at a time, so they are a great way to meet new people, ask lots of questions and develop your knowledge.
Qualifications you will receive.
Professional qualifications are an important part of our programme. Your journey with us will include the following qualifications.
- Level 4 qualification – You’ll start by working toward a Level 4 qualification in the relevant subject for your role to provide the foundation knowledge you need to succeed in your role.
- Degree apprenticeship – Once you have completed your Level 4 qualification, you will have the opportunity to complete a degree apprenticeship in a subject relevant to your role.
- Chartership – Once you have completed your degree, you will be able to progress onto Chartership. This could either be with the CIOB (Chartered Institute of Building), CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) or RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).
Pathways available
We have a range of roles in our higher apprenticeship trainee programme to start your career in the built environment.
Our Building Services teams focus on how the design, installation and maintenance of services and equipment can support a great building. For this discipline, you will play an important role in a project’s life cycle. You will focus on developing your technical on-site knowledge, as well as your commercial and project management skills.
In this programme, you’ll rotate across key business functions including Commercial, Production, Bid, Finance and IT. This will give you a broad overview of the business so once you’ve finished the programme you can decide which discipline to work in.
This programme helps you build understanding of the commercial function within a project, for example cost, profit and risk management. You will also build relationships with external customers and our supply chain, and will actively monitor the financial status of projects.
In this programme, you’ll be helping design a project in order to reduce risk and maximise return. You will engage with a variety of stakeholders, from architects to sub-contractors. You’ll maintain good relationships throughout as you collaborate, review and analyse information around the design.
For this programme, you will support the Project and Land team. You will focus on finding new land opportunities, as well as consultant and stakeholder management and planning.
You will have a commercial focus and be involved in work-winning during the bidding / pre-construction phase of projects. Your tasks will include preparing cost estimates, completing tender documents and producing cost plans, while building key stakeholder relationships.
In this programme you will play a vital role in both in the pre-construction and construction phases of a project. You will develop plans, schedules and programmes, to ensure projects run to timescales and to the highest standards. You will closely monitor the project’s life cycle, and collaborate across teams, to identify potential risks and opportunities.
You will help to ensure projects are delivered safely, on time and within budget. You will oversee subcontractor and operative activities and be involved with several of our business workstreams. You’ll be right at the heart of everything.
In this programme, you will help our Social Value team to organise and run projects and activities that support our local communities. For example, supporting pre-employment programmes and working with social enterprises. You will build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, and support the team with reporting to monitor impact.
Benefits include:
- Competitive salary
- Private medical insurance
- Employer pension contribution
- Car allowance or company car
- Health & wellness programme
- 26 days holiday + bank holidays
- Industry leading family leave policies
- Volunteering days
Applications open this October
- We open applications for our trainee programmes once a year.
- We can only accept your first application and will automatically withdraw and additional applications.
- As part of the process, you must complete an application form and answer several Situational Application questions.
- The next stage is a recorded video interview.
- The final stage of the process will be Assessment Centre.
- We will let you know the outcome of your application within a week of attending the Assessment Centre.
- If we offer you a place, we will keep in touch with you through events and networking opportunities, before you start in September 2025.
Register your interest
Be the first to apply when our early career vacancies are available.