Advanced Apprentice Review

My role involves working on vehicles on the ground-up build production line. This involves fitting trim components, completing the sub-assembly of engine dress, building up the front and rear chassis and fitting all of this to the vehicle body. I am also expected to complete a daily logbook to record all activities completed.

I have gained a lot of knowledge since joining the apprenticeship, I now know a lot more about cars than I previously did. However, I have not learned as much as I expected to and still feel quite far behind compared to apprentices in other departments, where the quality of training is better.

I do not enjoy college or my assigned department - both are unorganised and do not provide enough support for apprentices. However I am allowed to go on placements to other departments, and I really enjoy doing this as I get to learn new things and network with people around the business.

College is very unorganised and not well structured. The course content is delivered either too slowly or too quickly, and on some occasions we have not had a lecturer for a whole unit, meaning we have had to teach ourselves. My department is also not very well organised and did not know we were joining them.

I only receive support from my employer when I ask, otherwise I am left alone. On the occasions I have asked for support, the support I have been given in return has not been as expected and there have been times I have struggled with the work due to this.

I found the college to be very unsupportive. As mentioned above, there have been times where we have not had a lecturer and have had to teach ourselves the content. I have also emailed college lecturers for help a number of times and have never recieved a response back from them.

My qualification is in Manufacturing Engineering, which is not really relevant to my job role. During college I have learnt the basics of welding, fitting, milling and turning, along with very outdated electrical and mechanical powertrain systems. I do not do any welding/fitting/milling/turning in my job role and the majority of JLR uses very new technology, such as EV systems, which we did not get taught.

We are given a fixed amount of money every year to spend on learning a subject of our choice, for example skiing, Excel courses, off road driving etc. We are also asked to attend Corporate Social Responsibility Events to represent Jaguar Land Rover and speak to future apprentices and young people.

Yes

The salary is very good for an apprenticeship. You get a good amount of paid holiday. There is quite a lot of employee benefits such as the Employee Learning Scheme and discounted shopping vouchers. As long as you join the right department, you are treated well and given proper training.

Research the company values and make sure to listen to the assessor during the interview. Be yourself and make sure you are prepared to work hard. Speak to current employees and learn about each department before choosing where you would like to work. Ask lots of questions at all stages of the process.