Our products are used globally by leading companies and top universities, helping them make new scientific discoveries, accelerating their progress in research and design, and speeding up high-tech manufacturing.
We provide vital insights to the scientists who are developing new personalised medicines, creating lighter, more energy efficient batteries for electric cars, and bringing quantum computing into the mainstream. We’re instrumental in the design and delivery of the advanced chips powering the advanced technology of today and tomorrow. Our equipment is routinely used by Nobel prizewinners in their vital research. And we helped discover water on the moon…
With 2,000 colleagues operating in 18 different countries, you could have the opportunity to connect with brilliant people from all over the world.
Sound like something you’d like to be part of? Read on.
We offer a wide range of apprenticeships at all levels, from Level 3 apprenticeships which you can join straight from school, to degree and graduate apprenticeships where you can develop highly advanced skills in areas including design and manufacturing.
We’re committed to delivering high quality, specialised training opportunities that lead to an exciting, fulfilling career in a company that’s making a positive impact on the world.
Based in Belfast, Bristol, High Wycombe or Oxford, there’s an apprenticeship for everyone, whether you’re just starting out on your journey, you fancy exploring a different career path, or you’re an existing Oxford Instruments employee looking to extend your skill set.
We’ll give you all the support you need to develop your career, earning a good salary while studying for key qualifications.
As an apprentice, you’ll have all the same benefits as our full-time employees, with 25 days’ holiday a year and a salary that’s at least the equivalent of the national minimum wage for people aged 21+ from your very first year with us.
You’ll have at least one day a week to spend on your studies, but you’ll also be a key member of the Oxford Instruments team, making a genuine contribution to real projects from day one.
Click the link below to browse current opportunities or register for our Apprentice Talent Pool, where we’ll hold your details for future opportunities.
Our UK-based apprenticeships cover a range of levels and disciplines, from Level 3 (an advanced apprenticeship equivalent to A-level study) through Levels 4-7, which go from foundation degree level up to master’s degree). Find out more below.
As a Design Engineer degree apprentice, you’ll be joining our Mechanical Design team and helping to bring new products to life, as well as redesigning existing products. You’ll learn engineering principles and how to use CAD, as well as how to manage and control product design changes and create the supporting documentation that your colleagues will need to manufacture your designs.
Why not kickstart your career working in the thick of exciting, evolving technology at a global manufacturing business driving solutions across microchip technology, quantum computing, biomedical devices, renewable energy, battery-powered cars, and much more?
Rather than desk-defined duties and repetitive routines, we’ll embrace your curiosity and tenacity and empower you to engage and problem-solve. We’ll drive your learning and career development by supporting your active engagement in meetings, teamwork, and tangible problem-solving. As an example, a Manufacturing Engineer apprenticeship at Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology in Bristol will put you in a team of 12, with 50% of your time spent in meetings and liaising with colleagues. You’ll see engineering drawings, be involved in discussions and be empowered to query and question. Adding ideas and knowledge to our design process and manufacturing ability and our operational practices and techniques, you’ll soon be a proactive, autonomous, and hands-on contributor to the productionisation of semiconductor tool manufacturing.
You can progress to HND/HNC level and become a fully-fledged Manufacturing Engineer.
Manufacturing apprenticeships are also available at our NanoScience base in Oxfordshire.
Interested in marketing but not sure if university is right for you? Why not consider joining our level 3 marketing apprenticeship? You’ll gain a firm grounding in the core aspects of marketing, including key digital marketing skills, such as social media, email and web design, as well as traditional skills, including audience research, event management, compiling briefs for external suppliers, and data analysis and results reporting.
You’ll join a team of marketing communication professionals with a great breadth of knowledge and experience available to provide support and guidance. Based in one of our business units, you’ll also have the opportunity to interact with other marketing teams across the organisation, as well as working with a variety of departments beyond marketing.
This not only means that two days are rarely the same, it also provides a variety of potential future career development routes within Oxford Instruments.
The ideal candidate will have good English and Maths at GCSE, and you’ll find this role particularly rewarding if you have an interest in science.
As an Apprentice Technician at Oxford Instruments High Wycombe, you’ll work in a team of 26 Manufacturing Technicians, manufacturing our products ready to ship to customers, ensuring an effective and efficient operation to meet agreed quality, timescale, and cost objectives. As an Apprentice Technician, you’ll attain the skills and qualifications required to function as a competent Manufacturing Technician at Oxford Instruments.
You’ll be working within a team of operations professionals, and will have exposure to each area of Operations, working closely with the Manufacturing Engineers. We’ll give you all the support you need to develop your career, earning a good salary while studying for key qualifications.
After completing your Level 3 Apprenticeship, you’ll have the opportunity to move into a permanent role within the production team at Oxford Instruments, or to look at completing further qualifications while continuing to work with us. This could include completing your Level 6-7 Apprenticeship, which is a degree-level apprenticeship. Throughout your apprenticeship with us, you’ll also have opportunities to explore other departments within the business (for example Electrical Engineering within the Product Development team) to look at what routes you may like your career at Oxford Instruments to take, as well as continuing to move through the manufacturing career path.
Mechatronic Engineering unites the principles of mechanics, electronics and computing. As a Mechatronics apprentice at Oxford Instruments Andor in Belfast, you’ll combine mechanical engineering problem-solving and design skills with developing expertise in digital electronics and computing systems. As part of your learning you’ll gain practical skills in the production of advanced products and systems, and learn about automation and the use of robotics.
Over the course of three years you’ll spend a day a week at South-Eastern Regional College, taking modules on areas including CAD techniques, electrical and electronic fundamentals, analogue and digital electronics, alongside building up your professional skills, and learning and implementing production processes.
You’ll need 2 A-levels or a Level 3 vocational qualification in Engineering, together with GCSE Maths and English at the equivalent of Grade C or above.
As a software apprentice at Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis in High Wycombe, you’ll join a team of 35 software developers, working to an Agile process. You’ll experience life in a high-tech business and get a real feel for the world of work.
Our engineers work up through a full software stack in C#, from the direct instrument control layer that turns parts of an instrument on and off, through another layer that takes in the signals from the hardware and starts turning it into information, through to the business logic that decides what to display on the screen and when, right up to the user interface (UI) layer that creates what the user actually sees. This desktop application supports thousands of scientists and technologists around the world, so it must be accurate, robust, and as easy to use as technical software can be.
The teams use the Azure DevOps tool to control work items and bugs in four-week cycles (sprints). A sprint begins with planning the work items and understanding the requirements, before writing the code and performing testing. Next comes a code review with another developer, and then, once approved, it’s over to the software quality assurance team for formal testing.
During your time here you’ll have the opportunity to experience development at each layer in the stack to see which interests you most. You’ll be supported, coached and mentored by engineers with decades of experience.
“I’ve always had a keen interest in all things engineering, as my dad is an engineer. University was never my first choice, as I prefer to learn on the job rather than purely a classroom setting.
“I’ve felt at home in Oxford Instruments Andor since my first day. Everyone has been so welcoming, and I look forward to coming into work each day. Since joining I've met so many different people from different backgrounds and cultures, which is very interesting.
“I find the work very stimulating, there’s always plenty to do and it feels very rewarding at the end of the day knowing I’ve done a good job and contributed to the company’s success in a small way.”
"The thing that’s surprised me most since joining Oxford Instruments is the level of responsibility that I’m given. Even though I’m only an apprentice, I get given tasks which have an impact on the business, but also on the people who work around me.
“What I enjoy most about my role is being set problem-solving tasks, as it allows me to work through complex issues, but also to work with new people, which helps me pick up new skills that’ll help me in future tasks
“My favourite opportunities involve leading engineering projects, as I get to work with different areas of the business that I wouldn’t usually work with, such as the mechanical design team and purchasing team."
"I wanted to do an apprenticeship because I’ve always enjoyed learning by doing things, and I’m so glad I’ve made this choice. Joining Oxford Instruments particularly appealed to me when I found out that you get to work across a wide range of areas in the business – from learning to build all our products, to understanding the supply chain and working in the drawing office. In the two years I’ve been here I’ve learnt so much and been exposed to areas of the business I knew nothing about. I’ve also been encouraged to become an Apprentice Ambassador, so I now go to schools and events to talk to people about choosing this route."
“I joined in September 2020 when most of the world was in lockdown due to the pandemic. I was nervous at first, but I could see how much the company focused on protecting staff from Covid-19 while still producing products to help with research and testing, so I was quickly reassured.
“I’m now in Year 3 of my Apprenticeship and since joining Andor Oxford Instruments I have spent time in Stores, Shipping, Production, Facilities, Health & Safety and Manufacturing Engineering. This exposure has given me a good insight into how a business works and the practical application of theory I learn in college.
“I’m now working in Production as a QC Technician, which is a busy role. The day flies by as I’m responsible for full build and test of the cameras. It took a lot of training to reach this stage!”
“I’ve moved from learning to build our products, leading small project teams and then to working with our customers. I’ve been encouraged along my career path by managers who have mentored me, provided training and inspired me to apply for different roles. I gained technical skills when I learnt to build our products, project management skills working in Operational Excellence and people management skills when I led the test team. My journey has been challenging and exciting.
“I’ve stayed at Oxford Instruments as there are so many opportunities here and because innovation happens almost daily. In two decades, I don’t think I’ve had the same day twice!”
"There were always people within the business who were more than willing to spend time and go through things to increase my knowledge, whether that was within the job role or with my studying. It was such a big change but it was a case of jumping in and doing my best to learn as fast as I possibly could. I think the company appreciated that and I appreciated that they let me progress so quickly.
“Every day is different and every day I'm putting all these pieces together to try and come up with a solution to the problem, which is great, because it always feels like you’ve achieved something at the end of each day.”
“Completing a four-year Engineering Apprenticeship at Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology has given me an excellent foundation to pursue a career in engineering. Throughout my apprenticeship I’ve gained invaluable skills and knowledge. I’ve been supported and trained by experienced professionals and have had the opportunity to work in different roles within different teams and areas of the business.
“My training in the workplace has been complimented by academic studies, and two years into my apprenticeship I started working towards a Foundation Degree in Mechanical Engineering. I’ve now completed my BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering part time at the University of the West of England, with the full support of the business.
“An apprenticeship isn’t always an alternative to doing a degree, you can do both and with less student debt! I’ve found during my studies that while the academic theory is important, I have also gained a huge amount of knowledge and skills through day-to-day working. An apprenticeship really fills in the knowledge gap missed in traditional courses and allows you to see how the theory is put into practice.”
We create high performance scientific digital cameras, spectroscopy solutions and microscopy systems. We’re based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with technical centres in the US and Europe.
Our tools support research to the atomic scale through the creation of high-performance, low temperature and high magnetic field environments. We’re in Oxford, England.
Based in Santa Barbara, California, we’re leaders in atomic force microscopy for biological and physical science applications.
We’re located in High Wycombe, England, where we provide cutting-edge tools that enable materials characterisation and sample manipulation at the nanoscale.
We are experts in manufacturing nanoscale devices for research and volume production. You can find us in Bristol, England.
Based in Oxford, England, our teams design and manufacture benchtop instruments used in industry and academic laboratories around the world.
Headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, we’re the leading manufacturer of advanced low power X-ray sources, including tubes, power supplies and integrated sources.
WITec is a leading manufacturer of confocal Raman imaging microscopes for 2D and 3D chemical characterization
We’re a great and diverse team of individuals who generate brilliant results when we join forces. Our values - inclusive, innovative, trusted, purposeful – reflect the creative, supportive and forward-thinking atmosphere you’ll discover when you join our rapidly growing company
By seeking out different perspectives and diverse collaboration, we deliver better solutions and lasting success
Through our knowledge, expertise and focused curiosity, we create new possibilities for ourselves and for our customers
We build successful, long-term relationships based on accountability, integrity and respect
We care, and our passion and commitment drive positive change in the world
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How do I apply?
There are a variety of ways to apply for an OI apprenticeship. The different businesses within OI will advertise specific apprenticeships. These can all be found via our careers page, and you'll be able to find more information on each position there.
What happens after I apply?
Once you make an application you'll be contacted by by a member of the recruitment team at the business that you've applied to. This will be followed with an interview, usually in person, at the location you have applied to.
What if I am not ready to join you yet?
If you're not ready to apply for a specific apprenticeship, we invite you to join our talent community. You can do this by making an application following the link below. This will allow us to see that you've expressed an interest in becoming an apprentice at OI. We keep in touch with our talent community regularly and provide updates on what's new at OI.
Who can apply?
Absolutely anyone can be an apprentice. All you need is the right determination to succeed and a personality that reflects our core values.
You may have just completed your A levels, or maybe you never took A levels. You may be a parent, ready to return to work or an existing OI employee, looking to advance. Whoever you are, there’s an OI Apprenticeship here for you.
What apprenticeships do you offer?
There are a variety of levels from Level 3 to graduate apprenticeships available in the following areas:
How many apprentices do you hire?
We are committed to developing those that are at the beginning of their career, and we hire up to 25 apprentices every year in the UK.
Where are your apprenticeships located?
We have sites in Oxford, High Wycombe, Bristol, and Belfast.
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