Broadcast Engineer Apprentice Review

This can vary depending on whether I am working on a placement or am at University. Working on placement is vary varied, a typical day could be spent attending meetings, researching possible solutions to problems or building, fixing or testing equipment. A Day at University may consist of lectures, tutorials, practical session or study time.

The apprenticeship programme has allowed me to learn and develop a variety of skills, for example we started off learning about the basics of cabling by learning to make coaxial cable connectors and RJ45 cables. Since then we've also learnt about some of the studio operator roles and have had the chance to operate cameras, vision mixers and autocues as well as set up microphones and adjust stage lighting. Whilst working on placement we have learnt and developed skills more relevant to the job, this may be done via internal training videos, or meeting industry experts and asking for their learning form their experience.

This programme has been really enjoyable, with the current situation I have still been able to engage with the team and make contributions to projects we are working on remotely. I have also been sent projects to work on at home. What is most enjoyable is seeing a project you've worked on being used by someone else and seeing the benefits it has made to their work.

The programme is very well structured, there are blocks of University and training periods usually lasting a few months, followed by a number of months of placement work. The university timetable can often be varied as lecturers are split between apprentices and full time students, despite this the timetable is well structured and provides us with sufficient time for revision.

We receive lots of support from our line managers, we have weekly catch ups to see how everyone is. We also receive frequent reminders of the importance of our mental health and have regular well being sessions. There are also recourses available on the internal website which give advice on any issues or problems we may have.

We are provided with lectures throughout the course, these enable us to build a strong foundation for our learning. When working towards our qualifications we are encouraged to carry out our own reading and wider research, help and support is always available and we are able to contact our lecturers with any questions we may have, however independence in our learning is encouraged.

Our training provides us with a good insight into how technologies we may use in our role work, for example we are how transmission media networks work, but not all the technologies involved in the network. Working on placements then provides us with a greater appreciation for the distribution networks as we may be tasked with installing or fixing systems involved in the network.

Due to the current situation we are limited to what we can do in terms of extra curricular activities. Despite this we are still able to meet up on Zoom calls in the evenings. Once we do return to normal social events and societies such as the BBC Club will be up and running again.

Yes

The BBC is a brilliant place to work, you are provided with training to prepare you for your role and support throughout the course. Everyone one I've met so far has been enthusiastic about their role and the things it involves, they are excited by the projects they are working on and are keen to learn about the ones you are working on.

Make sure you understand the role you are applying for and what it involves, - don't be afraid to ask if you are unsure. Research into the structure of the BBC, how its funded and its purpose to the audiences, also take time to read through and understand the BBC's Values.