Apprentice Engineering Technician Review

As an engineering technician apprentice, I am learning how to perform maintenance and repairs on the Hercules C-130 aircraft. After approximately 8 months of developing hand skills, my day to day now involves shadowing and assisting work within the hangars. At this stage, I am more so shadowing one or more members of the team in order to gain the knowledge and experience to become competent myself.

From the very beginning, I was taught hand skills which I have never used before. The course is very heavily metalwork based, so the first few months of hand-skills included everything from learning how to precisely measure and mark out material, to cutting, filing and bending to these measurements all with very fine tolerances. This was all just the first few months.

I thoroughly enjoy the learning experience. Whilst the apprenticeship is largely practical, there is a theory side to it which has also taught me a great deal. Having both sides has made the experience particularly enjoyable to me. There are some times where the course slows down and I feel that the time management during these periods could be better handled.

Apart from a few periods in the aforementioned question, we have always had a good idea about what we will be doing and when we will be doing it. All of our time performing our initial training was presented to us early on in the form of a schedule so we could have a good idea of what we would be doing, months in advance. The transition to the hangar was a little rougher with plans not being shared until much closer to the time but there has never been an issue brought about because of this.

The learning facilitators have made it consistently clear that assistance will always be provided as and where necessary. The whole learning environment has been constantly helpful and there is never judgement cast on questioning the how and why of any processes. It is also clear that a level of independence is given, especially from moving into the hangars.

Exactly as mentioned before, there has always been plenty of support made available to everyone in need. The lessons for the theory side of the course, though sometimes dry, have been met with enthusiasm from the instructors which results in a greatly supported learning environment. The option is also available to look ahead at future topics, a nice feature for preparing for exams.

The role is completely dependant on the training. The nature of aviation engineering is such that without proper, prior training, it could not be completed safely or competently. This point is driven home very early on, and even after the months of hand-skills, the point is still apparent immediately after moving into the hangars.

They do host various sports and social clubs. There is an online hub which allows for communication and discussion points, and gives a medium for any and all employees to share news about anything. It is clear that, for those looking for it, these extra-curricular clubs are a tight-nit community.

Yes

For anyone looking to go into aviation engineering, an apprenticeship is the obvious way forward. The theory can be taught elsewhere, but gaining a competent knowledge of the hand-skills can only realistically be attained from doing. This apprenticeship offers an initial 6-8 month period of working in a safe environment where mistakes are looked at only as an opportunity to learn from them.

This is a (near enough) 4 year apprenticeship. Make sure you are committed. If you have a genuine passion for engineering, particularly in the aviation industry, the application and joining process will be a breeze. Remember that they are not expecting you to know everything straight away. The whole point is to learn the correct methods, and all are taught within this course.