Engineering Technician Apprentice Review

The day to day role at BMW varies significantly based on the department you work in. A core element of the apprenticeship is the 3 month placements around the business that are tailored towards your final role. For example in the parts quality department you could be analysing defects within launch parts. In Launch and change co-ordination, you could be working with understanding new changes and communicating them effectively to the various other departments such as the assembly colleagues, planning, engineering. Unfortunately, this is often a double edged sword. Since you are only in a department for 3 months, you learn a huge amount about the business as a whole and generate a huge amount of contacts. However, unless you are lucky enough to be given a project, often you have little responsibility and sometimes end up doing simple tasks. If you bear with it, it is definitely rewarding.

I have learnt a huge amount related to the manufacturing industry as a whole and especially about BMW. I have learnt details on supplier relationships, how new parts are communicated into the production, how products are validated. I have learnt a great deal about the importance of the engineering process. Lean philosophy is pretty much drilled into me at this point. I feel I can go to any manufacturing facility big or small and make valid contributions which can affect their efficiency and quality. Overall, immense amount of learning both personally and professionally.

I really do enjoy the program. One important aspect of working is the people you work with. Very rarely have I come across a group of people I didn't get along with. I does happen though. I have learnt a lot, and am incredibly passionate and proud about the products we produce. However, one thing I have learnt to cope with is boredom. Sometimes I am swept off my feet with work. Others I am kicking heels. This is normal in any work environment but exaggerated at BMW due to the 3 month placements. Saying that, I do not think that 3 month placements should be removed as they provide an incredible advantage. Rather, I believe that managers need to take more responsibility in keeping apprentices engaged.

The structure has incredibly improved over the last couple of years. It isn't without hiccups and due to the ever changing environment sometimes there are points where you feel a bit confused. BMW have a dedicated apprenticeship team that are incredibly helpful when/if any issues arise related to the program/uni/etc. This is an incredible advantage compared to smaller companies. The degree program integrated into the four year program is relatively new, with my year group being the second to ever go through it. This means that everyone is adapting to it. With experience I believe the apprenticeship team can anticipate the problems we had and be proactive about them for the future.

Whenever there is an issue the apprentice team are happy to support. I do not feel at any point I am "hung out to dry" whenever there is a problem. As mentioned previously, pro activeness needs to improve but re activeness is great. Experience with your manager will vary, of course depending on who your manager is. I always feel supported with every aspect of work/uni/life by my manager. No complaints at all. Overall, I feel BMW do a great job of supporting me.

Someone from the training provider BMET, is on site every day as they have offices here. I feel that they support a great deal. Especially towards our End Point Assessment, which is now the standard for passing any apprenticeship, our mentor is absolutely fantastic. He is always there to support and provides excellent support. University was a little more difficult. As the university was different from the training provider i.e. studying at Brookes through BMET. This meant that BMET had little say when there were issues at Brookes. This being said they tried their best when dealing with issues. We have regular 1 to 1 reviews to check on our progress where they ask if we need any support. This is useful.

The qualification is a BEng Mechanical Engineering Design. Unfortunately, only a small amount of what is learnt on the degree is directly applicable to what we do day to day. This is normal as the degree is preparing you for a variety of different working environments. Whereas, your job role is incredibly specific in the manufacturing industry. I sincerely doubt there is a "Quality Specialist" degree that I can join. That being said, the first year of the apprenticeship was spent doing a level 3 BTEC in engineering. Which was done together with the maintenance apprentices. This was not very useful as 4 days of the week were spent in the workshop learning hands on skills. As a Eng Tech, this is not useful to me. I feel that the training school is working on changing this to a more appropriate route. Perhaps more can be done to introduce Six Sigma or other lean manufacturing training will help.

I feel there is a definite lack of extra-curricular activities from the training school. Occasionally there is an opportunity to get involved in ad-hoc projects just as the Cowley Road Carnival which was fun. There is also careers events that you can potentially get involved in to go to other schools and talk about apprenticeships. I feel there is a push to improve this aspect as it has historically been an opportunity to improve. I feel it is more necessary to kick of an event from the training school side, thereafter, to give an apprentice the responsibility to carry on. If the apprentices are given ideas and suggestions only, nothing will be organised.

Yes

Overall, I feel that there are some opportunities to improve, such as extra activities, strengthening the responsibilities in the placements and more training that is relevant for the final job role for Engineering Techs. Considering this, there are much more advantages of working for BMW such as: Constant support from the training school as well as training provider, huge depth of learning from the placements, decent salary (especially in the later years) and an overall great working atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this apprenticeship opportunity to anyone. Especially over uni ;)

If you don't have much work experience, call on your hobbies and how they are related to engineering. Simple things spun the right way provide a different effect. - Be enthusiastic - Be honest - brush up on your knowledge of BMW - Conduct a work placement at BMW - get in touch with the training school and asked to be added to their mailing list for events - Take a plant tour - Fun as well as informative - Learn German if you can * It is incredibly useful