Higher Business Apprentice Review

There is morning meetings known as BUCC, PCC where any quality or safety concerns are discussed. The day to day depends on the rotation you are in so can be anything from completing imports to ringing a supplier or completing a project. We also have engagement groups within the scheme to go present the scheme to schools, do site tours or run social engagement tasks.

I have developed my interpersonal skills and system skills greatly in my first 6 months. My communication skills have improved the most which is important when we work on a huge site with lots of different external suppliers and brokers to deal with. The systems we use at GE can be overwhelming at first but are picked up quickly and will be used consistently throughout your rotations. We also develop our leadership and management skills through Uni and our rotations. Everyday is a learning day.

I couldn't be happier. The scheme provides a great work/life balance and we have flexi time to start between 7-9 and then finish between 3:30-5:30 Monday to Thursday and Fridays are 5 hour days with no weekends. The rotations give you a wide range of experience and a huge network, with the degree linking to everything you do so its more practical. Our apprentice lead Steph is very approachable and knowledgeable and everyone I have met on site so far has been so lovely and has helped developed my skill and knowledge with their experience.

We complete a new rotation every six months until our final rotation which is 12 months and within these we have three separate reviews throughout to monitor progress against CMI, set SMART goals and uni progress. We also have a uni review every quarter to monitor progress against CMI criteria.

We get a lot of support through our regular reviews and can always get in contact with our apprentice lead or line manager when needed to query anything and they do their best to support us even when we have issues outside of work which is always appreciated. We also have mentors to help us with any issues in or out of work which is great when being so new to the business

Our lecturer is always an email, text or call away and replies very quickly to any queries or concerns we have. The Uni also have the online library and academic resources we can use which is just another layer of support on top of our lecturer and managers/mentors at GE

When doing certain modules like leadership styles and communication it makes you think about how yourself and other apply that to the role and workplace and by being more aware helps you develop continue and considers for that role. It ultimately helps shape you by bringing the theory and experience together

We have multiple engagement groups; social engagement, school engagement, volunteering, site tours, finance etc. These help develop our CMI skills further and provide evidence of us demonstrating these skills. The social engagement committee is new and attempting to bring some more official social activities and sports afternoons to the site but prior to this and covid there is a lot of social engagement off site with those in the scheme.

Yes

The pay is amazing for an apprentice and goes up every year which is a big incentive, we get good holiday entitlement and benefits such as private medical which is a huge bonus. The site is huge and has so much going on and allows so much exposure to the business. GE spend a lot of time and money investing in apprentices and the scheme and lots of successful leaders have been made from it

I would advise you to learn what you can about GE Aviation and the Cheltenham site and to think about what you want to get out of applying for this scheme as its a four year commitment. Make sure to be yourself and be enthusiastic and thoughtful on why you want to start your career like this