Body CAD Review

At the moment I go to college full time as I am studying for a foundation degree. For two days a week I do workshop foundation competencies and for the other 3 I do lessons related to the foundation degree. In the half term breaks we are taken into plant for visits to suppliers and to get a feel of what it will be like in the later years.

I have learnt new skills in the workshop where I have learnt taking apart and engine and how to operate a CNC milling machine using the relevant codes on notepad. In the classroom I haven't learnt many new things yet as most is recap from A levels. We have covered some learning on materials, manufacturing processes and maths.

At the moment the programme is going quite slowly so I find it that I'm always looking for more to do but I know that as the programme progresses and everyone is built to the same level then we will all be a bit more challenged and have to get more involved in the college tasks. Also as we go into the workplace more I think this will be more interesting.

I think they value me well as they pay a very high salary for an apprentice wage. They also seem to make sure that we are well and like to make sure our attendance is high so that we don't miss out on any of the content and fall behind in our subjects. There are also work based learning managers who are there all the time if you need to talk to them and they support us through any issues.

The programme itself seems to have quite a clear structure but the day to day running of the college isn't great. The college seem to get things wrong quite often meaning that some teachers haven't had the information to teach the lessons in good time. However, as far as where we are headed and whats next I have a clear idea of how the programme will develop.

I am at college every day for this first year so have a lot of time with the training provider. they do provide us with the teaching that we need and when you are stuck they are knowledgeable and able to help. The college know what they have to teach us through the year and have a plan to take us to that point in the time that they have.

I receive plenty of support from Jaguar Landrover as they have the work based learning ,managers that are based at the college to have regular 1-2-1 meetings with us to discuss progress and any issues that we are having and they also are very good at solving problems if they arise.

It is far higher than my outgoings at the moment and is set to go up by a lot by the end of the apprenticeship. I live away from home and have enough money to afford food, housing and to run my car as well as a lot left for hoping out and saving away for the future. I don't have that many other costs at the moment as I live quite close to the college and am able to lift share there anyway.

I haven't heard of many opportunities at the moment however, i know that this will change when we get into plant next year as they have a database that lets you know about things you can do and also they have a scheme where each year you have a £200 allocation for activities which they expect you to use to broaden your interests.

Yes

I think the apprenticeship is a good way to earn whilst learning on the job and it seems like Jaguar Landrover treat us very well and pay us a more than fair wage.

Make sure you look into how the interview is run because they are more interested in the skills and way you work instead of your company knowledge or how much you like cars.