Aerospace fitter Review

We do 1 week of college which is all the theory side of what we do. Then we spend two weeks out on placement in the business where we work on real life engines. I am based in eos which is overhaul and this means that we take the engines apart and put them back to together essentially. The level of strip that we do is dependent on what the customer wants and needs. We mainly fit components on to engines and take components off.

I have been lucky to have oppportunities to develop my leadership skills. I got the opportunity to organise the apprentice induction week for 2019 where I was managing people older than me. This was stressful however with the free reign that I was given we were able to put on a successful week. In addition in my second year on the apprenticeship I got the chance to lead the schools stem project and the small piece trust project in conjunction with the physics at work.

I do enjoy my programme I enjoy the work that we do however I am constantly looking for ways to push myself and stretch me as I do not think a lot of the work is very challenging. Therefore I want to go into leadership and management. Sometimes the organisation on our programme can be frustrating however it is worth it and overall it is a great apprenticeship. I am hoping that at the end of my apprenticeship there is a job for me.

In the first year we had some problems with the organisation of our programme due to different training courses being cancelled and rearranged. We also initially had trouble getting placements out in the business which meant that we were stuck with not an incredible amount to do. In addition although this is not Rolls-Royces fault the organisation of the college is poor and the work always gets back ended meaning that the end of the year is always incredibly busy.

Our ADLs are constantly in touch and there to assist you when we are at work. They are always available and in this current time this is especially helpful as they are always on hand to give you any help and guidance over the phone when it is needed. I think that I would like some more support in terms of I would like them to come to me with different opportunities for me to stretch myself as I do not know what is available.

The tutors at the college are helpful in general. However there are a couple of tutors who do not have the greatest delivery method I.e they just deliver a PowerPoint with no interaction at all. This in my opinion is not an effective way of getting us to soak up the information which is being delivered. In addition we have had a few tutors who are incredibly hard to understand and therefore are not getting across the information needed.

I do not always think that everything that we learn at college is necessarily applicable to what we do in the workplace. Specific units such as aerodynamics are not very applicable for us as we manufacture aero engines not planes. However some subjects like maths and physics are very important especially if you want to go further with your education as these explain how things in the engines work. Other subjects like propulsion systems are very helpful.

As apprentices we have the apprentice and graduate association which organised different events and extra curricular activities which you can choose to partake in. Rolls Royce does have different sports teams as well such as football rugby and cricket. There are also networking events which are advertised on yammer and you can attend these and meet a variety of different people within the business. In addition we went on outward bound where we met people on our programme and business representatives.

Yes

I think that rolls Royce is one of the best places to do an apprenticeship due to the experience and infrastructure that they have in place. They allow you to get experience working on real parts and also enable you to study towards a level 3 qualification at the same time. I think that this is a better alternative to sixth form and college as you are learning and working at the same time and getting paid. In addition your work life balance is much better than when studying for a levels.

I would tell anyone else applying to ensure that they show off their best skills and attributes in the application process. Obviously you do not want to come across as cocky however the interview is the best opportunity you are going to get to showcase your talents. In addition I would tell them to do research into the business and what the business does so that you seem knowledgeable and seem enthusiastic and interested in the company.