Locations: Bristol & London (for London, you will receive a +£5,318 London Living Allowance)

An apprenticeship at the BBC gives you the opportunity to kick-start your career in a job you'll love. We’re the industry leaders in early careers and are committed to your skills and talent development. As one of the world’s most creative and technologically advanced organisations for the last 100 years, an apprenticeship at the BBC means the opportunity to learn from the most respected and experienced professionals in the business. 

The BBC’s broadcast services are at the heart of communities across the UK; telling stories that matter to people, on TV, radio, online and via our wider digital services. Through this apprenticeship opportunity, you could be part of the next generation of highly skilled post-production picture or audio editors. 
 This apprenticeship is an exciting entry level opportunity to join the BBC in towns and cities across the country; working at the front end of post-production in the newsroom ingest hubs, galleries, studios, post-production areas, and out on location. 

You’ve got to be interested now, right? 

Main Responsibilities

What will you be doing on the apprenticeship?

As a Post-Production Technical Operator Apprentice you will be working to support picture and audio editors in the BBC’s post-production areas across content production.  You will also gain many of the following skills via on the job ‘learning by doing’ supplemented by first class training across BBC training sites:  

• Video technology 
• Audio technology 
• Metadata and timecode 
• Codecs and files 
• Edit assistant operations 
• Networks and storage 
• Data Conforming and finishing 
• Quality Control 
• Archiving and legacy technology 

What will you be studying?

You’ll study for your industry recognised apprenticeship qualification, learning both on and off the job. This involves attending blocks of teaching at London South Bank University, covering best practice for media ingest, storage management, media export, secure digital despatch, support for creative colleagues in content finishing and quality assessment of finished content. 

For more information on this apprenticeship standard, you will be studying please visit here.

Where could the role take you?

On successful completion of your apprenticeship, you will be able to able to look for job opportunities inside or outside the BBC such as an Edit Assistant, Picture Editor, Archives Assistant, or Post-Production Technical Operator. 

This scheme starts in September 2025, and you will be on a fixed term contract which means your contract is for the duration of the apprenticeship only.  The duration of this scheme is 19 months.   

Are you the right candidate?

We’re interested in your passion for working at the BBC and your enthusiasm for delivering world-class content and operational excellence to our audiences. We look for positive people who live our values and ensure our culture remains inclusive and full of opportunities. We’re not focused on your qualifications; instead, we look for potential and offer you the opportunity to apply your transferable strengths and experience to work in different ways.  

Throughout the selection process, we’ll be looking for evidence of how you demonstrate each of the BBC’s values and behaviours. Our values guide everything we do. They define what you can expect from the BBC and what the BBC expects from you. Find out more about our values here.

Great Post-Production Technical Operator apprentices are those who can demonstrate they: 

• Are passionate about media content and the technical production side of how that content reaches the audience 
• Can work calmly under pressure 
• Are fascinated by how things work 
• Have brilliant organisational skills and are great at problem-solving 
• Are enthusiastic self-starters, flexible and adaptable to out-of-hours working 

This scheme is aimed at non-graduates. If you have a degree and you're interested in other roles at the BBC, we recommend applying for jobs at careers.bbc.co.uk or having a look at our other apprenticeship schemes.

To be eligible for an apprenticeship at the BBC, you must:  

• Be aged 18 or over when the apprenticeship starts in September 2025 
• By the start of the apprenticeship in September 2025, have lived in the UK or European Economic Area (EEA) for a minimum of 3 years. 
• Be eligible to work in the UK full time for the duration of the apprenticeship contract. 
• Not currently taking part in an apprenticeship scheme supported by the BBC or another organisation. 

To apply for this scheme, you must also:

• Have achieved, or expect to achieve, Maths and English GCSE at Grade 4/C or above or National 5 (Scotland) at C or above or equivalent qualification
• Not have completed or hold qualifications in the apprenticeship subject at the same or higher level

What you get:

During your Apprenticeship:

• A starting salary of £21,840 (+ £5,318 London Living Allowance)  
• Industry-leading training through the BBC Academy and our learning providers (this may involve travel to locations across the UK) 
• A dedicated Team Manager and Scheme Specialist to help with your development 
• Training and Mentoring by industry professionals  
• A 35-hour working week, 25 days of annual leave and a defined pension scheme. Plus discounted dental, health care, gym and much more. 

Towards the end of your apprenticeship:

• An industry recognised qualification
• Lots of experience to help you seek out new challenges and work opportunities within the BBC and wider industry
• Employability and networking training to help you secure your next role

Next Steps

Don’t leave yourself thinking ‘what if?’ — this is your chance to be part of something special. Think you’re the right candidate? Click on ‘Apply Now’!  

Once you’ve set up your candidate profile, you just need to complete the questions in the job specific information section on the application. We don’t require you to upload a CV or Cover Letter. We are looking for your potential to bring difference to the BBC.  

If you’re eligible for the scheme, you will receive more information about the stages of the process and what to expect.  A general overview of the application process can be found here. 

Apprentices starting at BBC from September 2025 will be placed on a ‘Fixed Term’ contract. This means your contract is for the duration of your apprenticeship only. The BBC is committed to investing in new talent and as you approach the end of your apprenticeship, we will work with you to support you and offer you employability and networking training to help you secure your next role – this might be a job here at the BBC, or somewhere in the wider media industry. 

Applications for this role/scheme are due to close on 28/11/2024.

About the BBC

Diversity matters at the BBC. We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, enabling all of our employees to thrive and achieve their full potential. 

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of the BBC – whether that’s to contribute to our programming or our wide range of non-production roles. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity. 

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief.  

To find out more about Diversity and Inclusion at the BBC, please click here. 

Support with your application

Our ambition is that the BBC is for everyone and should include everyone. We are proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer and committed to removing disability-related barriers.  

We take inclusivity seriously and want to ensure all candidates who are disabled or have long-term health conditions receive the support and adjustments they need. If you require reasonable adjustments for the application process or have access needs, you’d like to let us know about, please contact us here and we’d be happy to have a conversation in confidence to discuss how we can support you through the process. The job requisition ID for this role is 19325.