Apprentice Engineer Review

I am an engineering apprentice based in operations Telford, who's daily tasks include maintenance of armoured vehicles, upgrades, concept fitting and sometimes designing, building and stripping of products, analysing problems and forming solutions, electrical routing and making manufacturing instructions for differing projects. I find myself working as part of a team to solve, create and implement complex ideas.

Whilst on my apprenticeship I have attained a BTEC National Certificate in Operations & Maintenance Engineering and am working towards a HNC in Mechanical Engineering and NVQL3. Working here I can now control a crane, understand H&S better and have attained my H License; whilst developing skills such as welding, fitting, communication, presenting, electrical and mechanical knowledge, systems knowledge and vehicle variant knowledge.

I enjoy my apprenticeship very much and enjoy coming to work everyday to work with experienced people willing to share their knowledge and progress in my career. BAE Systems embraces apprentices and does so many varied projects that you can get yourself stuck into.

Although people rarely tell you how good/ valued you are, your work represents you as a person and you hope that stands for itself as quality output. It must be working due to me receiving technical apprentice of the year 2 years in a row and people requesting me to be on their projects.

The program at Telford is perhaps not as structured as other sectors of BAE Systems due to it being relatively new in principle and me being one of the first 4 apprentices here in about 20+ years; but in my 3 years here I have seen positive changes that will hopefully make it more structured down the line. I spent a year in operations, then about 8 months in engineering and then I chose operations as a route to go down. Placements timescales in operations were difficult to judge as you didn't know how long each placement would be going on for, so you had to take as much out of it as you can. Coming to the end of my apprenticeship I am not sure quite what role I will be coming out at.

To be honest my training provider doesn't work here so how can they answer any queries I have. Of what questions I did ask them would of been around college and getting them to mark the assignments I have given in. They answered them to the best of there ability

If I have a problem I can see my line manager, apprentice manager, HR department and occupation health officer. They usually have the answers to my questions and support me fully where required

I live about 35 miles from my work which results in about 1 hours travel each way per day, but my salary is sufficient enough for me to live comfortably and goes up yearly until I come out of my time. Who wouldn't like a bit more disposable income though

There are a few company events per year like the big build where the company employees built a playground for disadvantaged children, 3 peaks to raise money for charity through walking/running. There are a few group teams for different sports nearby. Personally I enjoy travelling and eating local cuisines BAE systems is very flexible with holidays.

Yes

If you have a creative mind, enjoy being busy and developing yourself as a person with endless career opportunities when you finish your scheme, being in a open helpful environment; all whilst being paid to learn and get your qualifications; then a BAE Systems apprentice would be a perfect place to start your career.

Be yourself and show off the skills you have. Research the business you are applying for in case you get asked some tricky questions, this also shows they've done your research. A background in engineering experience that be electrical or mechanical will be of great use for practical and theoretical topics. Come in with an open mind willing to learn and soak up information as there will be a lot in the first couple for weeks; write notes down if it will help you remember. Don't act like you know everything before you've even tried it as this makes you a 'know it all' and may put off the person trying to teach you useful skills and knowledge Oh and most importantly don't take everything to heart it may only be a joke you can banter back to.