Engineering Technician Review

The final year of the apprenticeship is spent 3 days a week in your hiring department, where you will have a position upon apprenticeship completion. Day to day activities involve spending time in meetings, collaborating with coworkers and working individually on projects. As you are approaching the end of the apprenticeship, more responsibility is given so you feel like less of an apprentice and more of a part of the team. The remaining 2 days are spent studying towards a level 6 degree with Birmingham City University in Manufacturing Engineering. 1 day is spent in Birmingham, attending sessions with tutors, and 1 day of personal study from home.

The apprenticeship helps to develop skills throughout 3-month placements that will be beneficial once the apprenticeship is finished. Some departments are better than others at giving you opportunities to learn new skills, but overall the apprenticeship has helped with communication, presentation, teamwork. problem solving and technical skills. The degree aspect of the apprenticeship is mostly a recap of work previously completed at level 3, however some modules learnt are relevant and can be applied to the workplace.

Overall, I have enjoyed the 4 year long apprenticeship. The 1st year was the most challenging, and on reflection not very relevant to the job that I will be doing upon apprenticeship completion. This 1st year consists of practical rotations in the workshop onsite where you learn sills like welding, milling and turning. The apprenticeship improved in the 2nd year once 3-month long placements were started in the business.

The organisation has improved as the apprenticeship has progressed. Initially there were communication issues between the Apprentice Training School (BMW) and the Training Provider (Birmingham Metropolitan College). When we had problems with feedback and marking of work at university there was a long delay before the issue was addressed, and only resolved at the end of the academic term. These problems have resolved themselves since moving onto Birmingham City University who seem to communicate to us and our training advisors more regularly.

The training advisors from BMW have provided a lot of support throughout the apprenticeship. When there have been problems with placements they have resolved them quickly. They schedule entry and exit reviews for every placement to help evaluate what you have learnt in the placements along with quarterly 1-1 review meetings to discuss any concerns.

We have quarterly meetings with someone from our training advisor, however it is not clear what the purpose and benefit to these meetings are. Any concerns raised do not seem to then be communicated to BMW or our tutors. The tutors at university have been very helpful and are always available to call if any support is needed with assignments.

The qualification studied is BEng Manufacturing Engineering and therefore not entirely relevant to the actual work that is carried out day to day. 2 or 3 modules that we have studied have been useful, mainly those relating to business management and quality systems. The mechanical principles and mathematics modules have barely been used since starting placements.

The extra curricular opportunities have improved recently, there is a charity team that regularly hold events for apprentices or you have the chance to become involved organising. There is also a newsletter and apprentice network that allows you to get to know the other apprentices from plants in the UK.

Yes

The opportunity to work in a company with so many career possibilities is great. Being on a degree apprenticeship programme also has its advantages if you are willing to sacrifice the university lifestyle, being paid to study is great! The company also has many benefits like the car scheme and a very competitive salary.

If possible, complete some work experience or the Girls Go Technical Programme prior to applying as this will give you an insight into what it is like to work at BMW Group. If successful for an interview then make sure to research the BMW Group Values and more about the company.