Technical Apprentice Review

I am a technical apprentice so I will be working on different projects with different teams week in week out. I move around departments every 3 months ranging from mechanical and electrical to Quality Assurance and Procurement which helps me decide my final placement and where I want to specialise at the end of my apprenticeship which I think is very useful.

Being an apprentice I have learned and developed a lot of skills I have brought from school. There is a lot of communication going on in the workplace and by talking to senior managers, sending emails contacting people over skype my skills have developed over time. My presenting skills have also improved 10 fold as I was a very shy person coming into the apprenticeship but can now present in front of anyone I need to.

I enjoy my apprenticeship a lot, it is always giving me a different outlook on the company and I am always doing something different so I am never bored at work! All the teams are very friendly and are always happy to help so you feel welcomed and they let you know you can always ask any questions whenever you have them.

The apprenticeship is structured very well and there is always a plan in place for you no matter where on the programme you are. From the induction day to your final day in your final placement you are well looked after and have various people to go too for support and can always get help if needed with anything from work to help with college.

I receive plenty of support from all my managers. When in placements my placement managers are always helpful and happy to find me work to help with college or to keep me busy and if i need help with other things my apprentice manager is always on hand to help and guide me with any problems i have at work and support me through my college work.

The training provided by the training provider is no where near the expectations from me. I think they could do a lot better to help us with the work they are setting rather than leaving us to struggle with tutors who cant teach and un-realistic deadlines. The college not providing these makes it a lot harder to complete the course on time and to the best of my ability making it harder to hit top marks.

My qualification from college is not that relevant to my role. The soldering and maths is very useful however the majority of the things we do at college are irrelevant to our work however that is because our work is very specific so is hard to find a course that fits. In the overall industry however the course sets you up very well with a broad range of engineering areas covered.

At work there are lots of extra-curricular activities that you can join in on being things to do with STEM or charity events such as football or bake offs. Leonardo run an event called rampaging chariots to get school kids involved with STEM which is always a good day to be a part of. There are always networking opportunities being sent round for employees to join and become part of to help net work and expand their contacts.

Yes

Leonardo is a great company to work at who offer lots of benefits for working here such as year end bonuses a lot of holiday and lots of opportunities for training and improving the way you work. It is a very friendly environment to work in and everyone is very helpful so if you don't understand something fully you can always ask for and get the help you need.

Making sure to add a cover letter to you application is a very good way of heightening your chances of getting selected for further interviews as it shows you have taken an interest into the company and have done research into what we do. Also being honest but trying to show off your skills is always good when applying so making sure everything you have done that can be translated into Leonardo is written down is important.