Maintenance Technician Review

I am a Maintenance Technician apprentice. Day to day tasks vary depending on my current placement which we change every 3 months. Generally it will be doing tasks that help enhance what we have been taught at college and learning new things about the company and how it works. Daily we interact with other technicians, managers and associates to work as a team. Again, my responosibilities change depending on my placement - however I am always responsible for my own learning and showing an interest in what I do.

From day one we have learnt and developed on skills with our week trip to Skern Lodge, working alongside apprentices from other BMW Group plants. So far I have done my P.E.O. at college, my BTEC level 2 and 3 and I'm currently working towards my foundation degree in electronic and control engineering. Internal training courses I have done include Working From Heights Safety and basic AGV Training. I feel that my team work skills have developed well and my proffesionalism has also improved from what it was. I'm yet to go on any external courses.

I enjoy my programme quite a lot, I feel as like I'm treated as part of the team no matter which placement I'm in. The company culture is great and everyone gets on well together. I truly believe I get as much out of my appprenticeship as I'm willing to put in.

I feel very valued by BMW Group. My manager always recognises when I have worked hard and commends me on it. People are always willing to get me involved in tasks and projects as much as possible to help my learning and understanding grow.

The programme is very well structured. Our manager is always keeping on eye on how things are going at work and with our training provider to ensure we are meeting deadlines and everything is on track. Our manager is also keen to ensure that they can provide us with any additional support we may need. We will meet with our manager and the responsible for each placement at the beginning and end of each 3 month placement to ensure we have targets and that we meet them and find out the reasons if we dont in case we are struggling in any area.

We have a combination of 2 training providers; college and university - between the 2 of them the support is good. The university offer us all of their resources as if we were a full time university student and the college provide knowledgable tutors that help us when we need extra help and ensure we fully understand our course units.

Our manager is also our HR contact and they do a very good job to ensure we are happy. If we have any issues we can go to our manager and discuss them, our manager will then swiftly act upon our comments and try and resolve issues where possible. Our manager also keeps in contact with our training provider to ensure we are all on track and find out if we need any extra support.

My salary meets my costs very well. I don't live at home and I rent my own place and I'm able to cover my living costs with my current salary.

There are a few opportunities outside of working including events such as the family day. In terms of official leisure clubs there is a golf society which invite you to join each year. There is also a group of associates that regularly get football teams together and have a kick around.

Yes

BMW Group really look after you with a lot of benefits to being employed by them. In terms of your future they provide you with a lot of training to help your knowledge and experience and grow and I'm also lucky to be on a final salary pension scheme. The benefit of the company car scheme is extremely good, especially when you are young.

I would advise others applying to the BMW Group to make sure they put everything they can in to the application process and be prepared for every step of the way. If being assessed in a team, make sure you don't take a back seat - it is key to be a part of the team in some way.