Engineering Apprentice Review

Currently as an Engineering Apprentice I rotate around the business by going into different departments for 3 to 4 months at a time. Whilst in these departments I carry out a range of work to gain an understanding of how that specific department functions within the business and what role it plays. Along with working within these department I work towards additional qualifications by having a day release to a local training provider as well as a workplace qualification.

I have developed a lot of new skills whilst working for BAE Systems with them ranging from team working and leadership abilities to more technical areas such as improved IT skills. For example, within my first placement I learned how to use a wide variety of Adobe programs (i.e. Illustrator, Photoshop and Dreamweaver) that aided me in my work.

I am currently really enjoying my programme and looking forward to the next few years as my work starts to become more technical. I'm given lots of opportunities in regards to a wide range of work alongside supporting STEM events and other enrichment activities to further expand on my skills and knowledge.

My programme is very well structured by my training coaches as they ensure I receive the correct amount of support in order to carry out my work along with having regular conversations with myself to review my progress. Everything is planned well in advance, which allows me to be less stressed in my day-to-day work along with being able to be flexible in my working times.

I receive lots of support from my employer in regards to a wide range of aspects such as health and safety, college work, training opportunities and workplace jobs I am doing. I would also feel confident in going to speak to my employer if I ever had a problem as I believe it would be resolved in the most appropriate manner.

I am given lots of support from my training provider as I am given a sufficient amount of time to complete each of my assignments as well as having enough time to make any corrections if necessary. All the necessary information is taught to me in order for me to be able to complete these assignments to a high standard.

I believe my qualification, through my training provider, helps me to perform better in my role as the units I am currently studying give me a wider range of knowledge compared to the work I carry out within my role. This is due to my role at work being more specific and specialised whereas my college work is much broader.

There are a wide range of extra-curricular activities available for me to attend such as STEM events, school visits, open days, helping during work experience and many more. I believe by me having the opportunity to attend these events I am able to increase my confidence in speaking to me people as well as working well within teams.

Yes

I believe the apprenticeship is very well structured and allows anybody to find a job they are interested in within the engineering industry. Due to the wide variety of work carried out by BAE Systems that stretches all over the world it gives people the opportunity to gain skills and have experiences that would be hard to find elsewhere. The company is also very supportive by offering schemes such as their pension and shares scheme.

Research about the company to gain have a basic understanding of what we do and where we operate around the world. I would also advise anyone applying to BAE Systems to be passionate and enthusiastic about engineering as this will come across really well within interviews. Finally, I would say it is important for anyone applying to be confident in themselves and not give up if they don't happen to get on the apprenticeship on their first try.