Apprentice Broadcast Engineer Review

My role as an Apprentice Broadcast Engineer varies every day and from placement to placement. Throughout the scheme I have worked in Operational engineering, technology support and technology development gaining lots of relevant experience in lots of different areas. I have been able to develop a lot of my existing skills and gain lots of new relevant skills relating to broadcast technology.

I have been able to develop a lot of my existing skills and gain lots of new relevant skills relating to broadcast technology. The scheme is designed in a way to allow us to gain lots of new skills, not just in one particular area but across lots of engineering disciplines.

I enjoy my programme very much, I had a really keen interest in broadcast technology and engineering and this scheme has allowed to me to learn a lot more and gain a lot of new skills within this area. I have also made a lot of contacts within the industry and worked across a number of different BBC sites and other industry partners.

A lot. We are respected as real members of staff and given responsibility to complete the work that we are doing. There is a very good balance between the guidance and help we receive and the responsibility that we are given to do the work. Apprentices on the scheme get a lot of responsibility and that really helps as you are working in a real environment, working on real projects etc.

The programme is structured and organised very well. We go through a series of placements interspersed with university periods. This works extremely well as we get a perfect mix of the theory based, university learning and the hands-on practical experience that we gain from our placements in the industry.

The university provide us with the support that we require across the different modules. Obviously, with the nature of university, there are some modules that require more support than others but usually if we require support it is available to us either from the university or the BBC Academy.

We receive a lot of support from the BBC Academy. We have development days in which we come together to discuss career opportunities and are given guidance on the scheme throughout. They are always there for questions/guidance whenever you need and all of the relevant support is there.

Our expenses are covered for any travel for work etc. The salary definitely helps but personally for me, as I had to move away from home, I relied occasionally on some help from parents etc. In the grand scheme of things the salary is good and covers most of the essential costs of living etc.

There are lots of opportunity that the BBC offers outside of work. I personally am not involved in these activities so I am not in a position to comment on it but I know that they are available.

Yes

The BBC is a really nice, enjoyable place to work. I personally really enjoy my work and the stuff that I am involved with in work. The BBC as a whole is an enjoyable place to work and I have really enjoyed my time on the apprenticeship.

During the application process show enthusiasm and show that you are genuinely interested in what you are applying for. For me, I had some previous experience in the area and that really helped with my application process as I was able to talk about previous experiences etc. but this is definitely not an essential. Showing that you are passionate and keen to learn is definitely key.