Engineering Undergraduate Apprentice Review

During the course of the apprenticeship, I work 3.5 days a week on site in an engineering role that consists of 5 placement in manufacturing engineering, quality and design. Then the following day, we are studying at Swansea University working towards our bachelors in aerospace manufacturing engineering.

The process has allowed me to develop leadership, project managing, communication, problem solving, time managing and many more skills that are required in the various roles that I have experienced over the course of my apprenticeship.

The program is highly demanding and often seems difficult. However, being able to work in an environment where my choices and work has a real effect is highly exciting.

The programme structure ties in really well with our degree as some of the modules in the degree requires evidence that supports the requirements in the module specification. This is something that is missing in the university process, where the typical dissertation is based on real work you are performing.

Given that they are dealing with the largest intake of apprentices that Airbus UK have had, they have performed very well. They conduct monthly comms and reviews to address concerns, and also monthly one-to-ones to be able to privately express any issues to the managers.

They provide good support with our qualifications as they are able to liaise with the apprentices often to address issues and concerns.

Personally, the qualification is very different to the work that is conducted in the role. There is a lot of theory and physics that is very useful to know and understand however in the grand scheme, the plane already flies, we only improve the manufacture or the aircrafts.

No

Yes

For a short term thinker, university seems like a very appetizing option. However, it is important to note that after university is over, getting a role as good as this with the same qualifications is much harder. The long term thinkers that see how good this course is goes further.

Visit as many open events as possible to understand what it is we do, and also meet some of the people that you may meet on site. Networking is a key skill at Airbus, so making a good impression in the open events and work experience weeks will help massively.