Industrial Placements, Summer Vacation Scheme & Sponsorships

What does AWE actually do?

Since 1950, the Atomic Weapons Establishment has been central to the defence of the United Kingdom - providing and maintaining the warheads for the country's nuclear deterrent. As the nation's largest high-tech research, development and production facility, we house some of the world's most advanced experimental facilities and one of the largest supercomputers in existence.

AWE operates from two major sites in Berkshire. AWE Aldermaston, covering approximately 750 acres is our main site and is where we carry out design, research and manufacturing work. We also have a 225 acre site in nearby Burghfield, which deals with the final assembly of warheads, their in-service maintenance and eventual decommissioning. The scale and diversity of our operations, combined with the fact that they're all concentrated on two sites means you'll have the opportunity to work alongside people from a variety of disciplines you'd never come into contact with elsewhere.

What’s best for me?

Different arrangements suit different people, which is why we offer a choice of three schemes. They all come with a pro rata salary of £15,130 and 28 days' holiday per year. We’ll give priority to graduates who are studying subjects we’ve identified as scarce, or who are prepared to develop themselves in a particular field of AWE science or engineering. All our schemes begin in June 2010 - so you need to be in your final year or the year before your sandwich placement.

Industrial placements

Many universities will require or encourage you to go on an industrial placement as part of your degree course. It’s a great way to get a taster of working life and an introduction to AWE. We’ll involve you in live projects and where possible give you the chance to work on your final-year assignment. You may choose to take on an industrial placement if you aren’t ready to commit yourself to the sponsorship programme.

Summer vacation scheme

If you don’t have a sandwich year included in your university course, or you’d rather graduate before making a long-term career choice, our summer vacation scheme is a great opportunity to gain valuable experience on your CV and earn good money over the holidays.

Sponsorships

This scheme combines the experience you’ll gain from a summer vacation or industrial placement with benefit of ongoing financial and academic support in your final year. After you complete the initial placement, provided your performance is up to scratch, we’ll sponsor you on your return to university for your final year. We’ll pay your tuition fees and give you £500 towards learning materials – along with £1,000 living away from home expenses, support from a dedicated mentor and access to AWE facilities and information. As long as you do well in your final year, you’ll then take up a place on the AWE graduate scheme.

Applying

For more detailed information, please see our Careers for Inquisitive Minds brochure, which you can obtain by calling the AWE Recruitment Team on 01189 829000. For placements starting in 2010 we require applications by February 2010. We accept applications throughout the year - please apply online at www.awe.co.uk

AWE welcomes applications from women and men, regardless of disability, sexuality, racial or ethnic origin, age or responsibility for dependants. The normal contractual retirement age at AWE is 65. Successful candidates will be selected solely in their ability to carry out the duties of the post. Because of the work associated with these posts, they are subject to special nationality rules and are open only to British citizens. All selected candidates will be required to undergo security clearance.