Higher Apprentice Attributes Engineer Review

My title is a higher apprentice in Braking Performance. I'm working towards the role of attribute engineer. Daily tasks include procurement of prototype parts, planning and organising of vehicle reworks. My work effectively involves the testing and verification of the braking performance attributes of future planned vehicles.

I have obtained a foundation degree in automotive engineering, and gained Performing engineering operations (PEO's) qualification in milling turning and fitting, automotive skills and engineering drawings equivalent to a level 2. I'm currently studying a degree at Warwick university in applied engineering, which I'm really enjoying.

I feel I've been welcomed into the friendly team I have ended up based. Throughout my time I have done placements in other departments who have all also been welcoming. I was unsure what to expect when joining the scheme, and hadn't even considered a career in prototype development and had only really thought about the manufacturing side of things. However I am very glad to have ended up in PD, my job is quite often very exciting and I feel privileged to get so much hands on time with the vehicles.

I feel very valued by JLR. I often receive praise and positive feedback for my contribution. My role currently is more of a supporting role, but I am getting more deeply involved in tasks and projects as my length in service increases.

The organisation of the programme was initially a bit varied, due to my year being the first intake of higher apprentices. The who programme has now settled down and runs very well. I have decent support network from my dedicated industrial training manager (from the apprentice team) and my actual line manager. The degree programme at Warwick uni is superb and exceuted well by the experienced team there.

I have regular meetings with my industrial training manager (ITM) who monitors progression in qualifications, my safety and well being. If I have any problems or issues I feel cant be solved by my line manager I can contact my ITM and he will endeavour to solve the problem or get the answer I require.

I receive a good deal of support from employer and have a line manager who I receive plenty of support from. Any issues I have he can usually help to resolve. He's also a good source of information when seeking answers for problems.

I initially took a paycut to join the scheme, however with 6 monthly incruments based on me meeting my objectives I soon made up for the inital loss. The salary I receive is very well paid and adequately helps to cover the costs of my 65 mile a day commute as well normal cost of living.

As part of the scheme you are required to cover career fairs and other corporate social responsibility events. In terms of leisure and sport events there is a gym on site available to staff and some external clubs, but due to my home location I haven't been involved in them.

Yes

It's a fantastic company to work for, and is really pushing the boundaries in terms of its innovations. The company is a strong iconic British brand that I'm proud to be part of.

Make sure to invest a lot of time into the inital application questions as they carried a large weighting throughout the application process. Practice of the different assessment tests (through the links they provide) is essential to pass initial tests.