Laboratory Scientist Apprenticeship - UCB

Cogent Ssc Limited

Slough (SL1 3WE)

Closes in 19 days (Thursday 15 May 2025)

Posted on 25 April 2025

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Summary

Working in the Single B Cell Antibody Discovery group, you will be responsible for laboratory-based tasks supporting therapeutic projects and technology development. This represents a great opportunity to work in industry-leading laboratories at the cutting edge of drug discovery.

Wage

£19,300 a year

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Annual salary review. Apprenticeship programme has a salary structure with annual increases subject to progress on the apprenticeship and performance in the workplace.

Training course
Scientist (level 6)
Hours
Monday to Friday 09:00 - 17:30 with 1-hour unpaid lunch break.

37 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Monday 1 September 2025

Duration

5 years

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you’ll do at work

You will be responsible for laboratory-based tasks, which includes designing and running experiments, analysing data. The role will have an emphasis on laboratory automation, to support antibody drug discovery. Techniques will include molecular biology, cell culture, high-throughput screening, as well as maintenance, programming and operation of advanced laboratory automation equipment.

Tasks typically involve:

  • Use of specialised software and scripting to control and troubleshoot automated liquid handlers and integrated robotic systems
  • Keeping up to date with technical developments, especially those which can save time and improve reliability
  • Performing experiments accurately to produce data and support scientific investigations
  • Analysing and recording experimental data to the agreed standards
  • Helping interpret and present results in collaboration with other colleagues

Following and ensuring strict safety procedures and safety checks.

Where you’ll work

216 Bath Road
Slough
SL1 3WE

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT

Your training course

Scientist (level 6)

Equal to degree

Course contents
  • Identify and apply scientific approaches to solve problems, support investigations and recommend any follow-up experiments.
  • Evaluate scientific experiments using an appropriate level of qualitative and quantitative numerical analysis.
  • Critically analyse data, relevant literature and input from colleagues to inform investigations.
  • Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific data and present the results in written and oral form.
  • Manage record keeping to ensure data integrity, traceability, confidentiality and adherence with appropriate regulatory requirements.
  • Promote, enact, document, and monitor the application of quality standards, safe working practices and compliance with risk management systems relevant to the role.
  • Identify opportunities to challenge assumptions and apply influencing skills to make improvements, make new proposals and build on existing ideas.
  • Manage work plan, prioritise tasks and evaluate progress against objectives.
  • Contribute to the development of technical projects across multi-skilled teams and share best practice across the wider business.
  • Conduct complex (chemical, or physical, or biological) scientific investigations in accordance with defined company procedures and legislative requirements.
  • Identify and implement continuous performance improvement using appropriate techniques.
  • Ensure work meets environmental, risk management and sustainability requirements and regulations of the business sector.
  • Evaluate own performance and knowledge, and set personal development goals.
  • Troubleshoot equipment selection and implement sustainable solutions.
  • Identify and collaborate with key stakeholders and provide technical support and advice where required.
  • Identify how other roles in the organisation can contribute to achieving sustainability goals.
  • Select and apply equipment, techniques, and methods to ensure reliable and accurate results.
  • Undertake practical analyses and measurement and communicate the outcomes using appropriate terminology and mathematical and graphical notation.
  • Use appropriate digital solutions for the collection and analysis of data, and the retrieval of appropriate information.
  • Use communication methods suited to objective and audience.
  • Use theoretical models, often involving approximations, to make quantitative predictions.
  • Apply chemical concepts and theories to investigations.
  • Design, develop and carry out chemical science investigations.
  • Recommend synthetic pathways to target-compounds and design experimental activities to test predictions.
  • Design and deploy purification, isolation and characterisation strategies, taking account of physicochemical properties of elements and compounds.
  • Design, develop and carry out qualitative and quantitative sample preparation, chemical measurement, and analysis.
  • Critically compare the results of theoretical or computational modelling with those from experiment and observation.
  • Apply physics theories to solve problems that cross scientific discipline boundaries.
  • Apply computational techniques to analysis and model physical behaviour.
  • Apply physics concepts and theories to investigations.
  • Design, develop and carry out physics based investigations.
  • Use mathematical techniques and theories to solve physics problems.
  • Use computer programming software to solve physics based problems.
  • Critically analyse current and emerging developments in the biosciences and the contribution of Biosciences to the wider industry.
  • Apply Biological concepts and theories to investigations.
  • Design, develop and carry out biological investigations
  • Perform tasks related to sample preparation and culturing techniques.
  • Use of laboratory automation systems.
  • Perform sampling with consideration for sample variation.
  • Identify and apply scientific approaches to solve problems, support investigations and recommend any follow-up experiments.
  • Evaluate scientific experiments using an appropriate level of qualitative and quantitative numerical analysis.
  • Critically analyse data, relevant literature and input from colleagues to inform investigations.
  • Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific data and present the results in written and oral form.
  • Manage record keeping to ensure data integrity, traceability, confidentiality and adherence with appropriate regulatory requirements.
  • Promote, enact, document, and monitor the application of quality standards, safe working practices and compliance with risk management systems relevant to the role.
  • Identify opportunities to challenge assumptions and apply influencing skills to make improvements, make new proposals and build on existing ideas.
  • Manage work plan, prioritise tasks and evaluate progress against objectives.
  • Contribute to the development of technical projects across multi-skilled teams and share best practice across the wider business.
  • Conduct complex (chemical, or physical, or biological) scientific investigations in accordance with defined company procedures and legislative requirements.
  • Identify and implement continuous performance improvement using appropriate techniques.
  • Ensure work meets environmental, risk management and sustainability requirements and regulations of the business sector.
  • Evaluate own performance and knowledge, and set personal development goals.
  • Troubleshoot equipment selection and implement sustainable solutions.
  • Identify and collaborate with key stakeholders and provide technical support and advice where required.
  • Identify how other roles in the organisation can contribute to achieving sustainability goals.
  • Select and apply equipment, techniques, and methods to ensure reliable and accurate results.
  • Undertake practical analyses and measurement and communicate the outcomes using appropriate terminology and mathematical and graphical notation.
  • Use appropriate digital solutions for the collection and analysis of data, and the retrieval of appropriate information.
  • Use communication methods suited to objective and audience.
  • Use theoretical models, often involving approximations, to make quantitative predictions.

Your training plan

Scientist Level 6.

The training for this apprenticeship will be completed online.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

  • Min 5 inc. Maths English Science (grade 4/C or above)

A Level in:

  • 2 A-levels including Bio+ another science or maths (grade a minimum of 80 UCAS points)

BTEC in:

  • Science related including Biology (grade a minimum of 80 UCAS points)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Attention to detail
  • Organisation skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Presentation skills
  • Administrative skills
  • Number skills
  • Analytical skills
  • Logical
  • Team working
  • Creative
  • Initiative

Other requirements

Please ensure that you currently live within or can relocate to a commutable distance of the site The individual will be working within a laboratory environment and must therefore adhere to site dress code procedures and personal hygiene standards during testing activities The individual will be required to handle hazardous materials

About this company

As the specialists in skills for science and technology, our purpose is to make sure your business; your people and our industry are future ready. We are a not-for-profit charitable organisation with a family of commercially focused companies committed to supporting the skills, needs and ambitions across the UK science and technology sector.

https://cogentskills.com/vacancies/ (opens in new tab)

Disability Confident

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

Upon successful completion of the apprenticeship, you will be eligible to apply for other positions within the business. The training will expose the apprentice to a wide range of skills and competencies which would make them well placed for further study or suitable for many job opportunities in the life sciences sector.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

Cogent Ssc Limited

Tom Bretherton

thomas.bretherton@cogentskills.com

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000317159.

Apply now

Closes in 19 days (Thursday 15 May 2025)

When you apply, you’ll be asked to sign in with a GOV.UK One Login. You can create one at the same time as applying for this apprenticeship.

After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.

Company’s application instructions

To apply, please follow the link to the Cogent skills website to complete our application form.