At a glance
- Soldier
- combat
- engineering
The combat engineer role is an exciting and fast paced trade that requires the Royal Engineer soldiers (known as Sappers) to learn a vast selection of combat engineer skills that support personnel across every part of the battlefield.
- £25,200The minimum amount you’ll earn during training
- £25,200Your pay after completing basic trade training
- AgeFrom to
- Qualifications
Combat Engineers have a role in every area of the battlefield. At the front we support the rest of the Army, bridging rivers, clearing routes through minefields or using explosives to gain entry into buildings and destroy bridges.
Behind the front line we improve transport routes, construct camps, build runways and carry out explosive disposal. We also use our specialist skills to help rebuild after conflict. We provide humanitarian support in the form of water production, electrical supply, infrastructure and support to medical facilities, which provide essential healthcare to local people. Wherever we are, our skill and versatility is a match for any challenge.
The Corps of Royal Engineers allows the Army to work all over the world, whether it's involved in active combat or disaster relief. The Corps are ‘first in’, setting up bases ready for the rest of the Army to arrive and ‘last out’, closing down patrol bases and military camps. The Corps is at the forefront in disaster-relief operations, effecting rapid repairs to damaged infrastructure in stricken areas.
Provide water supplies to deployed personnel
Use demolitions to destroy objects or hinder movement
Build fortifications to protect personnel
Build bridges for personnel to get over obstacles
Use field engineering techniques to support personnel
Use watermanship techniques to travel over water obstacles
Have any questions? Talk with us
Regular (full time)
Entry requirements
Qualifications:
Basic physical fitness assessment:
Mid Thigh Pull: 50kg
Medicine Ball Throw: 2m 70cm
MSFT (beep test): Level 5 shuttle 8
Training for the role
Step 1
Your initial military training teaches you how to be a soldier, covering everything from fieldcraft to how to handle a rifle.
If you join as a Junior Soldier (under 17 years and 6 months), you’ll do a short training course at Harrogate.
If you join as a Regular Soldier (over 17 years and 6 months), you’ll do the regular adult basic training.
Step 1
You head to the Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment near Camberley, Surrey, for 12 weeks. Here, you learn military engineering skills, such as knots and lashings, demolition, mine warfare and bridge building.
Qualifications you could get after training
L2 Employability Qualifications
Pay & benefits
You'll earn £25,200 a year from the start of your training, which will go up as you progress throughout your career.
How to Apply
Once your online application has been approved, you'll meet with a local recruiter. This is your chance to tell us about the role that you're interested in. When you go to the Assessment Centre, you'll take tests - the results will show whether you'd be suitable for this role, or should consider a different role.