With a mission to improve people’s lives through the work that we do, we’re hoping that our early careers programme can change yours too.
Here you’ll find a real sense of purpose, as we all work towards one goal – to make a positive impact to the communities in which we operate.
By using the latest technology and our expert knowledge, we collaborate and create digital and print solutions for some of the best-known brands, provide a world-class defence and security service to organisations including our military, and support the launch of leading car brands throughout the world. All this through our different companies and you could be part of one of them.
You’ll have the chance to get stuck into all kinds of exciting projects, helping to transform our business and that’s why we’re looking for colleagues from a range of backgrounds and the diversity of thoughts that brings.
We’ll support your development, helping you build your new career. You’ll be integrated into the business from day one, learning how to network, gaining opportunities not available in larger corporate organisations.
You’ll use different technologies to help support our customers whilst learning from industry and business leaders who will inspire your personal and professional development.
There’s no such thing as a typical apprentice. Our apprenticeships are open to people of all ages and backgrounds – school and college leavers as well as graduates and those in need of a career change.
You’ll be more than a number, with responsibilities and accountability we will trust you to do the right thing and focus on things that matter.
Careers are built on strong foundations, that’s why all our apprenticeships are permanent from day one. With a personalised development plan and ongoing support. We’ll provide the right level of guidance whilst giving you the freedom to drive your own development, ensuring you fulfil your potential.
You could be designing digital content within our marketing team, printing materials for some of the best-known brands, supporting the launch of new cars around the world, preventing cyber-attacks, or supporting colleagues to enable them to carry out their job – every role makes a difference, and we want you to be passionate about what you do.
Our pledge to you is that whatever role you pick, we’ll help you study for an industry recognised qualification during work time, giving you right opportunities to demonstrate the associated skills, knowledge and behaviours linked to your apprenticeship in a fun and enjoyable workplace.
We know we’ll have a role which suits you, providing challenges on a day-to-day basis giving you the platform to shape ideas and influence business decisions. Click on the images below to find out more.
Learn about our apprentices and see how you can kickstart your career too. Find out more below.
This is the first stage in the application process, and you’ll need to complete all sections within this stage so that we can assess your suitability for one of our roles.
You’ll need to complete:
We’re looking forward to learning more about you.
If you're successful from your online application, we’ll invite you to a telephone interview. At this stage, we’ll be looking for you to bring your application to life.
Our top tip is to think about examples linked to the apprenticeship that you’ve applied for and don’t be frightened to talk about your skills, what you’ve studied and the strengths you have to offer. This is a great opportunity for us to learn more about you.
This will take approximately 30-45 minutes.
If you're successful and make it to the final stage, we’ll invite you to the next stage of the assessment process.
These will take place at one of our Bailie Group offices.
The assessment process may include either:
Should you be invited to an assessment centre, you’ll be joined by other people seeking an apprenticeship with us.
These usually take place from April onwards.
If you’re successful, during either the Assessment Centre or Individual Interview Process, we’ll make an offer to join our apprenticeship scheme.
We recognise that people are different, and we’ve tried to make our application process accessible to everyone.
We’re working hard to build an inclusive workplace that reflects the diversity of Britain today. So, if you need additional support during any stage of our recruitment process, please get in touch and we will look at how we can support you. This ensures you can be the best you at whatever stage you’re at in the process.
It all depends on the programme level you're interested in.
For Level 3 and 4 apprenticeships, we’re looking for 5 GCSE’s or equivalent (grade 4 or above) including Maths and English.
For Level 6 apprenticeships you will need to have either obtained, or working towards obtaining, 3 A-levels or equivalent, at grade ‘C’ or above.
Whilst our apprenticeships are also open to graduates, your degree can’t be in the same subject or close to the apprenticeship you’re applying for as you wouldn’t be deemed eligible for this qualification.
For specific entry requirements please refer to the individual career adverts.
Please note that any offers given before results day are conditional upon you receiving grade requirements as listed on the job advert.
We offer a wide range of apprenticeships from Level 3 (advanced) right up to degree Level or 6 (higher).
You’ll be able to find the exact apprenticeships on offer at our various offices in the individual career adverts.
Each apprenticeship is designed for a specific role, to ensure that you can demonstrate all the skills, knowledge and behaviours linked to that apprenticeship.
Finding the right apprenticeship can be difficult. Through our interview process, we may recommend an apprenticeship that you hadn’t thought of before as we see key skills and attributes in you that we believe would be a good fit.
When thinking about the right apprenticeship, ask yourself some key questions:
If you’re motivated and enjoy what you’re doing, the likelihood is, you’ll be more successful.
Each apprenticeship is different, but you can see how long each one runs below:
Level 3 (Advanced) – 18 months
A Level 3 apprenticeship is known as an advanced apprenticeship. A Level 3 would be the same as 2 passes at A-Level.
Level 4 (Higher) – 2 years
A Level 4 apprenticeship is equivalent to a foundation degree, a Higher National Certificate (HNC), or the first year of an undergraduate degree. Higher apprenticeships start at Level 4.
Levels 5 and 6 (Higher and Degree) – up to 4 years
Level 5 apprenticeships are also classified as higher apprenticeships and are the equivalent of the full degree.
The Level 6 apprenticeship gives you the opportunity to obtain a full bachelor’s degree where study happens in the workplace and through one of our university partners.
We start looking for our apprentices in January of each year. We’ll advertise exactly what apprenticeships we’re offering and the various levels.
Our application process will close at the beginning of March during this time, we’ll review every application.
If we think you have what we’re looking for, you’ll be invited to a telephone interview.
If you’re successful after your telephone interview, you will then be invited to one of our assessment centres that will take place over the course of a full day at one of our Bailie Group offices.
If you’re successful at all stages of the interview process, we typically start apprentices in September. If there is a business need to start earlier than September, we will liaise with you to understand whether this is possible.
More information about the full application process can be found in the ‘how to apply’ section of the website.
Our apprenticeships are based in one of our operating companies at locations across England.
This includes:
| Location | Company |
|---|---|
| Leeds |
|
| Cheltenham | CDS Defence & Security |
| Aylesbury | CDS |
| Bicester / Horsham | Loop and Newspress |
The availability of our apprenticeships is based on the work that is carried out by each operating company at their different locations. We want you to be successful and fully supported, which means that you’ll probably spend much of your time initially in the workplace learning from the experts.
If you’re wanting to apply for an apprenticeship that isn’t close to home, this could mean you would need to relocate to a commutable location in order to undertake the apprenticeship (please note, no relocation packages are offered for apprenticeships).
The simple answer is yes.
All our apprenticeships are offered with permanent roles from day one.
Like all new colleagues, you’ll have a six-month probation period. Your performance will be reviewed during this time to make sure you’re on track. That’s why we make sure that you’re fully supported.
This monitoring doesn’t just stop here, and you’ll have regular one-to-ones with your manager on an ongoing basis.
We offer permanent roles because we want you to:
Everyone on our apprenticeship programme gets a nationally recognised qualification and a ‘graduation’ certificate from Bailie Group.
Those who successfully complete an Advanced Apprenticeship (Level 3) receive the equivalent to two A-level passes, which is the entry requirements to a higher or degree level apprenticeship.
You’ll get the opportunity to study for more professional qualifications linked to your role or you might want to start thinking about leadership development.
Please refer to the individual apprenticeship job adverts for salary information. But note, we’ll pay you above living wage and reward you for your hard work by putting salary increases in place throughout your apprenticeship.
These salary increases are based on your performance, linked to both your apprenticeship studies and your day-to-day role in the department.
All full-time colleagues work 37.5 hours per week. Our offices tend to open between 7am to 7pm and there is a degree of flexibility on when you will start and finish. Due to high customer demands, your manager may ask you to work specific shift patterns between these times to ensure deadlines are met.
Sometimes you may be asked to support your colleagues over your expected finish time due to specific project deadlines etc. This shouldn’t be the norm, but from time to time, this may be required if you are working on key projects.
During your work time, we’ll ensure that you have time to be able to work on your studies and can put into practice everything that you’re learning from your studies. It’s important to be able to evidence everything that you’re learning so that you can meet the requirements of the apprenticeship.
Flexibility will be shown as some studying may have to take place outside normal working hours (for example, some tutor sessions may be in the evening). If this is the case, you will be given time back to compensate this during your working week.
You’ll get 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays. Your Holiday entitlement runs from January to December.
We're looking for people with a real passion for what they want to do – and for Bailie Group too. You’ll stand out if you can show us that you know about our business – our different brands, our vision and even who our competitors are. It’s also really important that you can explain in your application and at an interview, why you’d really like to do the type of work and apprenticeship you’ve applied for.
Do your research on all the companies. You’ll find lots of information about them on their various websites. We’d recommend having a look at these as they’ll help you during all stages of the interview process.
We know that people will want to join us from different backgrounds. That includes the number of years studying and potentially within the workplace.
Previous work experience isn’t essential, but we’ll still need to assess if you have the right attitude and ‘passion’ for Bailie Group and the apprenticeship you’ve applied for. You’ll need to show us what other things you’ve done, and the skills and experience you’ve gained from other activities – whether it’s volunteering or captaining a sports team.
For example, if you play sport, you may be able to talk about being a team player or managing a team or having to commit to train and attend practice and managing your school / college work alongside your sport. If you’ve done a Duke of Edinburgh Award or any volunteering work, you can talk about your experience doing this. If you’ve had a part-time or summer job, you can talk about what this has taught you. The job itself isn’t important.
What we’re interested in, is if you can transfer the skills, knowledge and experience you’ve gained to working in a professional environment like ours. It’s who you are and what you can offer that matters.
Assessment days will be run at one of our Bailie Group offices. We’ll invite candidates to spend up to a day showing us their strengths and talents as they perform tasks and activities linked to the workplace.
These would include the following:
If you’re invited to one, we’ll assess you against the criteria we’ve set for the role, so it’s not a competition between candidates. Instead, we want to see how well you work together and on your own. And, depending on the number of vacancies we have for the apprenticeship you’ve applied for – all or none of the candidates may be successful.
