Body CAD Engineer Review

I am a part of the Body Engineering department within my company which covers everything you can touch and see on the exterior of the car. My specific area within this department is Body CAD which is an area I'm very happy with. However, I am only in my first year of the apprenticeship meaning I am at college full time. My current days consist of a mixture of workshop and classroom lessons. I find my days very interesting as I am learning a lot of new skills.

During my time at college I have learnt a lot of new skills; mainly in the workshop as I haven't worked with a lot of the machines before. I have learnt how to operate a milling machine, write CNC programmes, weld and how to disassemble and assemble an engine.

I am really enjoying my programme as the department I'm in is one I'm happy with. This is because of the team of people I will be working with are very organised and friendly. I enjoy my time at college most of the time as sometimes I find certain subjects quite difficult.

I feel very valued by my company! I was recently getting worried about maths as this isn't a strong subject for me and was thinking that potentially the apprenticeship might be too difficult. I spoke to a manager and he made me feel much better about the whole situation by reassuring me.

The programme has been very well structured but has still had some problems along the way which is expected. The induction to the programme was fantastic, my department upon welcoming new apprentices was very well organised, the plan for the year with assignment hand in dates has also been well thought about. Although the company did make a couple of mistakes with our contracts and holiday entitlements but that was quickly resolved.

I personally don't feel like I receive enough support from my training provider. I struggle with some subjects and haven't really been offered much support; I had to find tutors outside of work to help.

My employer offer a lot more support in all sorts of areas. I haven't needed to ask for anything yet as I haven't been with my employer much but if I did then they would happily support me.

My salary is great as I am still living at home due the apprenticeship being near where I live. Because of this I am able to save a lot more money than other apprentices who have had to move to the area. This means I have money to spend and can still save a good amount for the future.

I am not sure whether there are many opportunities as I am still quite new to the apprenticeship. I have been asking some of the apprentices in their 2nd year to see what the company offers. In the local are there is a lot on offer as there a large city within driving/train distance.

Yes

Overall the apprenticeship has been run very well minus the few errors they have made. I have enjoyed my time I have spent here too which is massively important as if you aren't enjoying something or you are not having fun then it could change your opinion on the whole;e thing.

I would advise people to make sure they take A-Level maths as this will be very important when taking the degree apprenticeship. I would also suggest moving in with other apprentices as its a great way to make friends quick; it also helps as you will know someone on the induction days/weeks.