Apprentice Broadcast Engineer Review

My job title is apprentice broadcast engineer, my time is split between university and work placements. These are split into 4 3 month segments per year. During university we cover the fundamentals of broadcast technology and the work placements then cover the practical elements and learning. The university work has up in lectures whilst there and doing projects whilst away. The placements we learn through shadowing other engineers and being given tasks to complete.

During my placements I've learnt many new skills whilst further developing my existing ones. I was taken to a lighting desk course which was extremely new to me as I had never worked on lighting before, I was also given opportunities to work upon my knowledge of infrastructure (where my main interest lies). The uni work helps with learning all of the theory behind television that I knew little to nothing about.

The programme I work on is extremely enjoyable. The work is what I'm interested in so time flies whilst working and is fun to do. The other members of the course are all friendly and have similar interest so it's easy to make new friends and have fun with them. The BBC in general has an excellent level on "fun" to work for.

Those I work work with are appreciative of the help I can provide and really spend time and effort to help increase my knowledge of the industry. The managers of the course are also very supportive and helpful in all aspects of work. However those who do not know about the course and have more senior roles are not always as friendly.

The course is extremely well organised. We had three weeks at the start of the course in which we participated in inductions specific to both the BBC and the course. We also receive training and support from the BBC directly as well as the university and work placements. The course is planned out for the entirety of the three years meaning we know what we will be doing when and where well in advance.

Some of our tutors are very supportive whilst others are not, it totally depends on the nature of the request and who I am asking. For example, asking the networking tutors for support is no problem, they reply quickly and almost always provide a helpful answer where as contacting our programming tutor will either result in no response or a response with no help what so ever.

Our employers are excellent at providing all members of the course with support at almost any time of the day. Both our manager and our course coordinator are more than happy to provide us with help whenever they can and do so very well. They do not mind what it is we need, if we feel we need support then they try their best to provide it.

Personally, the salary for the first year of the apprenticeship is too low for me. The high cost of rent is what makes the salary slightly too low and means I require support from my parents. Travel cost and food cost is covered whilst away from our home base which is greatly appreciated and helps a lot.

We get given the opportunity to attend a lot of events outside of work that are related the company. This can include corporate events, charity events and training events. We can also join social groups that are advertised within the company both online and locally within the BBC buildings

Yes

Working with the BBC at this early stage in anyone's career is a once in a life time opportunity that is guaranteed to open doors through out your career in television. They are extremely supportive, they provide you with excellent experiences that you would not be able to access anywhere else and offer you a large amount of prestige from working for the BBC.

If you are applying for an apprenticeship with the BBC then make sure you show your enthusiasm for broadcasting, be it in TV, radio or online. Always be yourself, be confident and smile! If/once you get on to the course, make sure you keep up to date with the university work and whilst on placement, make the most of it! Try to get the most out of this course and you will be more than rewarded!