Engineering Technician Review

My role changes frequently as I change placements every four months. Each placement involves working with a different team on various tasks and projects. I am office based, and so use a variety of different software packages to complete tasks and communicate with other departments. As well as my placements I also attend college one day per week.

I have learned and developed many skills. I spent a year full time in college where I had a variety of classes, some of which were expanding on my knowledge from school and further education (eg. maths, communication skills, engineering drawing) , and some were completely new to me (eg. welding, pipefitting, PLCs).

I enjoy the program. I think an apprenticeship is a great way to earn money while also learning vital skills and gaining qualifications and experience in the workplace. My experience so far has been positive, the majority of my colleagues seem to like helping apprentices and the atmosphere in the office is pleasant.

I think my programme is fairly well structured. My training officer is in contact frequently to ensure I am on track for meeting my goals and providing support if necessary. I do however think there is not enough clarity on how the apprenticeship will progress going forward, for example I am unsure about what my fourth year will entail.

I think that I receive a good amount of support from my employer. My training officer and line managers so far have been very approachable and I am confident that I can raise any issues I might have with them and they would help me to come to a resolution.

I think that I receive a good amount of support from my training provider in working towards my qualifications. Again, my lecturers are all very approachable and happy to help. They generally tend to have a positive attitude towards the students and this helps me to enjoy my time at college.

I think the qualifications I have already recieved, and am currently working towards, has helped me to improve upon skills that are valuable in the workplace - for example time management, communication as well as some specific skills such as using CAD software. I do find that many of the classes I study don't seem to be massively relevant in the workplace though and have not put the skills I learned into practice.

I believe there are some extra curricular activities to get involved in however I cannot say if they are any good as I have not been involved in them. There has been a social committee set up so that apprentices can arrange social events, however I believe there haven't been any events organised yet.

Yes

As I stated in a previous answer, I think an apprenticeship is a fantastic way to gain experience as well as qualifications. I believe that my 4 year apprenticeship is a much better idea than a 4 year degree, as I am earning money while studying and will end my apprenticeship on a really good salary, and will have valuable experience in the industry. BAE Systems consistently wins awards for their apprenticeships which shows that they are a great company to choose to learn with.

My advice would be to complete the application to the best of your ability. The aptitude tests when I applied were quite difficult and this made me worry that I wouldn't get through to the next stage, however I obviously did better than I realised. If you are in the same position, try not to worry! If you get to an interview or assessment centre, be yourself and the interviewers will appreciate that.