Engineering & Estates Management (EEM) Trainee

Start your journey in Estates Engineering Management (EEM)

If you want a career where your work has a direct impact on healthcare delivery, Estates offers a distinctive opportunity. You will apply your engineering knowledge in real NHS settings, support essential infrastructure, and help create safe, efficient and sustainable environments for care. It is a chance to start your career in a role that combines technical challenge, public service and long-term development.

Why Engineering in the NHS?

When people think about the NHS, they often think about doctors, nurses and clinical staff. What many do not realise is that every hospital depends on highly complex engineering systems operating safely and reliably every hour of every day. From operating theatres and intensive care units to critical power supplies, ventilation systems, medical gases, water systems and sustainable infrastructure, engineering is fundamental to delivering safe patient care.

The Engineering & Estates Management specialism within the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme (GMTS) prepares graduates for operational, safety critical and leadership roles responsible for the NHS estate.

Participants work across the full breadth of NHS engineering and estates activity, including:

• Operational estates management (day to day running of healthcare buildings)

• Engineering compliance and assurance (electrical, water, ventilation, fire and other safety critical systems)

• Capital development and infrastructure projects

• Digital estates, sustainability and Net Zero programmes

The role is intentionally operational first, ensuring graduates develop credibility and confidence in live NHS environments before progressing into more strategic leadership roles. Work combines hands on engineering exposure, management responsibility, and leadership development, with a clear line of sight between estates decisions, patient safety and clinical service delivery.

Qualifications

We will support you to gain a Masters in Building Services Engineering (MEng) from an accredited university institution which will enable you to pursue a pathway towards Chartered Engineer (CEng) professional registration.

Alongside your engineering qualification, you will be completing the NHS’ Mary Seacole CMI Development Programme which will introduce, develop and harness your leadership style and potential. This programme will be delivered through a blended mix of conference style, virtual workshops and small group learning.

Trainees will also participate in a range of conferences throughout the Scheme which will allow them to work and develop together with trainees from other professional disciplines as a group, learning from leading experts within the health and social care sector and further afield.

Teaching is delivered during working hours, but trainees can expect to complete coursework and revision in their own time.

Career path

The programme is designed to develop graduates who can operate confidently within this technical area, forming a sustainable pipeline into hard to recruit roles.

Typical destinations following the scheme include:

• Estates Officer or Estates Manager

• Engineering or Technical Services Manager

• Compliance Manager or Deputy Head of Estates

• Operational Engineering Team Leader

With experience, progression routes could include Associate Director, Deputy Director and Director of Estates roles.

Support and development

We’re looking for leadership potential.  To help you achieve yours, every trainee receives the following structured support:

• Access to a Trainee Support Manager (TSM) from the NHS GMTS team who provides overall holistic and pastoral support for the duration of your time on Scheme.

• An Education Officer from the NHS GMTS team who will support you with planning and succeeding in the educational activity you complete outside of placements.

• A Placement Manager for each placement you undertake who will be your day-to-day line manager.

• A Programme Manager who oversees your development trajectory and completion of competencies for the whole duration of the Scheme.

• Access to a trainee ‘Buddy’ from a previous cohort who will be able to support you from the experiences they have gained whilst on the Scheme.

Plus, a range of other NHS GMTS team members, NHS GMTS alumni, academic tutors from the higher education institutions and many more.

“There are so many opportunities that come from working in Estates and Facilities Management in the NHS, whether that be additional qualifications as part of your learning or the chance to face a new challenge every day, there are so many key skills that you will learn from working in this sector.”

Tom, Estates trainee