Project Management Apprentice Review

My current secondment out of the four needing completed is within the detailed planning department. This is the initial stage of planning a project and has a heavy - technical aspect to the role, which involves planning the fitting of specific equipment onto a ship under construction. My day-to-day work within the department involves ordering in equipment, specifically electrical kit, to be fitted on the ship. In addition to this I also run the daily figures for the amount of kit being fitted during the week and feed this back to the relevant planners and supervisors.

A major skill I have learned whilst working at BAE is the ability to network and co-ordinate with various different people. As ship building is so complex, there are numerous different department for different aspects of the build, so being able to communicate and co-ordinate with these departments becomes an important aspect of the day-to-day job. A skill I have developed is my IT skills. As my job role is completely IT based, IT skills are vital in ensuring a job is done correctly, with an intermediate skill of Microsoft excel being developed even further, as well as a basic knowledge of company specific planning tools being built up increasingly within each department.

In the few months I have worked at BAE, my programme has been an enjoyable experience, I have met new people and took part in various pleasant experiences such as STEM events. However, due to the learning aspect of the job day-to-day tasks can be inconsistent, meaning some unproductive time in between. Overall however, my experience of the apprenticeship so far has been a good one and has helped my develop and further myself as a person.

My current secondment involves a lot of movement between offices and departments due to the differences between each aspect of work within the role. As a result of this, a solid structure is important to be able to appreciate the role properly. So far I have been moved from the very initial stages of the project where the very structure of the ship is planned, through manufacturing of the parts that go onto the ship to my current position which is involved in the fitting of the manufactured parts onto the planned structures of the ship itself. This allows a developed knowledge of the whole ship building process from a planning point of view.

Overall support from BAE early careers has been very good for me personally. Apprentices are regularly sent progress questionnaires, as well as having regular catch-ups and reviews. As well as this, every apprentice can attend a monthly catch up session with senior staff, which can benefit both the staff and apprentices and give each other an appreciation of the apprentices experiences as well as allowing the staff to find ways to improve the learning experience from the viewpoints of apprentices themselves.

BAE have had regular contact with our QA college lecturer and the early careers team ensure we are getting the most out of our educational part of the apprenticeship by allowing us to voice any possible concerns or problems we have with the coursework which is given to us. This allows the confidence to carry on with the qualification with the knowledge the company is always behind us.

The qualification is well-taught and having numerous weeks in between workshops allows the apprentices an opportunity to place everything learned within the classroom into action in a practical environment. This creates a better understanding of what is being taught to us as it then becomes our day to day jobs, as well as aiding us within our working week.

BAE have great links to the STEM association and host regular events with help from employees from the company. One such event i was invited to was the STEM event at the Glasgow science centre, for second and third year school pupils. This not only allowed us to tell the younger generation about what the company does, but also let us engage in a fun way in the form of a boat-building challenge which created a fun medium in which to teach about what Naval Ships do.

Yes

BAE are an excellent company to work for. They encourage every employee to step out of their respective comfort zone and challenge themselves on a daily basis. They treat their employees well with great working conditions and excellent training as well as pushing them to improve themselves personally all the time. Another benefit of working for such a large company is that each employee feels part of something special, especially producing the complex projects that BAE deliver.

Be confident in yourself and be sure to show off the core strengths and skills which you inherit and in which BAE will be looking for. No one is perfect and BAE realise this, so as long as you can show your personal strengths they will notice this and hopefully invest in you as a person.