Engineering Apprentice Review

Working alongside technicians around various departments of the airport (8 in total). Your day to day work can change between scheduled and reactive maintenance: mechanical or electrical, and attending faults when required. Passengers may also require assistance navigating the airport, which will help you learn the geography of the airport. No 2 days are the same.

In a word, Yes. The apprenticeship scheme involves going through a level 3 qualification in general engineering currently at East Surrey College which develops my understanding of the theory behind engineering, with an option to continue onto a HNC in general engineering (level 4). On site work alongside technicians has then developed my hand skills and communication skills within working environments.

As mentioned before; no 2 days are the same, this keeps the job interesting and enjoyable. I'm currently based within baggage engineering, one day I could be changing belts and rollers, and the next I could be assisting to install CCTV for baggage monitoring. This also widens my skills across both mechanical and electrical systems.

The structure of the apprenticeship is great: 1st Year - Attending East Surrey College to complete level 3 general engineering. 2nd Year - Begin On-Site work alongside technicians on days visiting different departments in 3 month intervals. 3rd Year - Begin Shift work across different departments in 4 month intervals / if you opted to continue onto the HNC, day release at college begins in this year. 4th Year - Continuing visiting/revisiting sections and completing the 2nd and final year of the HNC. Sections visits are flexible in order of completion and often based on how interested you would be in each department, which is great as you feel more in control of your apprenticeship.

Everyone I have worked with within the airport has supported me during the scheme, many technicians and managers around the airport have also worked through the apprenticeship scheme themselves. so a lot can provide help when needed. on site training is often offered and can be requested at any time.

East Surrey College tutors provide support during the qualification. with In class help they will happily go over topics again to help your understanding as they can often link together during units. the tutors also offer email support for if you have trouble and are not attending college that day. with the eZone available online you can also access the lesson notes away from the college.

During my time at college I have developed a further understanding of engineering systems and how they work. when I apply that knowledge to on site work during maintenance and faults it helps me understand how the systems work together and/or how the systems may fail. As an apprentice this make me feel more confident i can find the problem when attending faults

Yes, as apprentices we do not always get the opportunity to all work together as a team. As a result of this, we all go on an annual trip on an Outward Bound course over a period of a few days to a week. This so far has been done to Ogwen, Aberdovey, and the Lake District.

Yes

Over the years I have attended college I have seen different apprenticeship offers that were available for application after my courses; Gatwick Airport was an offer that stood out for me above others, with lots to offer and a wide variety of work it has something to suit everyone that has an interest in engineering.

When applying for the Gatwick Airport Apprenticeship scheme it is important to show interest and willing. A background of engineering is not mandatory, as you will be going to college to study engineering. A good applicant for Gatwick is someone that always likes to try again and demonstrate out the box thinking.