Degree Apprentice Review

For the first year we are in college and will be doing lessons that are deemed fit for our jobs when we finish the apprenticeship. Classes of mixed ability, we have no responsibilities and have only been into our work place a few times. We have lots of work in college but the majority of it is completing necessary paperwork. Have to be at the college at 7:30 for parking and leave at around 5:05. (Our paid hours are 8-5)

I have learn a few new skills with CAD and maths, although I do not feel we have done enough. There are opportunities such as the employer learning scheme to gain new skills and the company will pay for it. We are learning basic skills in engineering. Also doing workshop activities such as milling and turning.

I have to say that I have not really enjoyed my experience so far, the days are longer than most other apprenticeships, some of the work we do does not feel relevant and is drawn out too long. Sometimes they will treat us too much like children. I thought this course would be more in the university with more flexibility on what we would do and gaining an overall skill in engineering while specialising in the end, but it feels too aimed towards a set area and I hope this does not make me loose out on skills if I wanted to apply to another job. In my opinion, the college courses are very boring, there is not much excitement and is very dull, I feel very little stimulation on the imagination. The only few upsides is that there is a job at the end of the course, few opportunities to gain experience and is well paid.

I feel that I have not learnt enough to be valued yet by JLR. I feel that I could be replaced easily and feel more in the way than a member of staff. I felt slightly valued by my managers-manager, he seemed to care about us due to the large investment he has spent on us.

The plan has been well structured but the execution is off. Many details are sent out wrong or very late. There are meetings every 6 months to discuss our behaviours and development, but recent comments from tutors just seem to be copy and pasted from one form to another.

For around every 25ish students there is a work based learning manager that tracks your progress and gives you feedback. If we have any problems we can report to them and they will attempt to sort it out.

For around every 25ish students there is a work based learning manager that tracks your progress and gives you feedback. If we have any problems we can report to them and they will attempt to sort it out.

The salary is very large compared to other apprenticeships. Takes me around 40 mins to get to work every day and an hour to get into the plant. We get 18k starting wage that increases by 1.8k every 6 months till the end of our apprenticeships. We only get the pay rises if we perform well in college. There is no room for increased pay (ie promotion) during the apprenticeships

There are ELS which is the employee learning scheme which the company will pay for you to improve any skill of your choosing. There are other courses too but they are not available to first years.

No

This one depends on what my friend wants. If he wants to do any job for a lot of money they yes I would recommenced. But if he wants to be challenged every day and have fun and enjoy himself (which I believe is more important), then this isn't the course for him.

Try and be yourself, as if you don't get it by being yourself then it is not for you. Try and engage in team activities and show an interest in how things work, ask valuable questions. Try and do something engineering based (ie taking a clock apart or a car engine) before the interviews as It will help out a lot.