The Gloucester-based UK arm of Safran Landing Systems, the world leader in aircraft landing gear, wheels and brakes, with a three-year engineering apprenticeship.
Safran Landing Systems designs, makes and services the landing gear, wheels and brakes that aircraft use to take off and land. It is part of Safran, an international aviation, defence and space group with about 100,000 employees. In the UK its work is based in Gloucester, where teams design and build landing gear and carry out maintenance, repair and overhaul. The site supports the Airbus A320 and A350, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Global Combat Air Programme.
Safran's stated core purpose is to "contribute to a safer, more sustainable world", with an emphasis on environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible air transport. It describes Safran Landing Systems as the "world leader in landing gear, wheels and brakes" for civil, military and helicopter aircraft. Those are company claims.
The Gloucester site was established in 1937 and continues the legacy of George Dowty, an English inventor and industrialist who pioneered landing gear. In April 2025 Safran Landing Systems opened a new engineering and support building there, and its chief executive, Francois Bastin, said it would be central to designing the next generation of landing systems. The company says the plant has 1,200 skilled employees and that more than 200 people joined in 2024. The Gloucester site later merged with Messier and Bugatti, which helped bring the group's landing systems expertise together. Gloucester is the only UK site listed in the adverts we read.
Safran says the new Gloucester building was designed for wellbeing, with relaxation areas, and supports cycling to work. The chief executive talked about giving teams the means to excel. These are company statements, and we did not find independent culture reviews, so ask apprentices about the day-to-day atmosphere.
The company runs dedicated apprenticeship and onboarding programmes at Gloucester. Its Multi-Skilled Engineering Apprenticeship is a three-year full-time scheme with six places: the first year is at an external training provider, and the following two are in the workplace with placement rotations. It asks for at least five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 including English, maths and a science, no prior experience, but an interest in engineering shown through school or hobbies, and IT literacy. Search results also show materials engineer and test engineer higher apprenticeships at Gloucester. Pay and closing dates were not stated, and we did not find a UK graduate scheme.
Website: www.safran-group.com
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