Apprentice Aircraft Mechanic Review

Apprentice mechanical operator at RAF coningsby: performing scheduled maintenance on Typhoon fighter jets, involving removing and installing components, performing functional tests, etc.

I feel I have developed existing skills learned from workshop/classroom phase of apprenticeship, and will continue to do so as I become more experienced.

In terms of the apprenticeship, the programme is great, however the site I have been placed at could be better as there isn't a great deal of 'teaching'.

within my own team I feel somewhat valued, but being an inexperienced member, I feel my worth is less than that of my colleagues. As for higher management, I don't feel valued at all.

The structure of the apprenticeship from BAE systems is great. The first year really prepares you for being on shop floor and gives you a good grounding to develop skills

I feel the support for apprentices is minimal on base. The NVQ assessors are very helpful as a first port of call, however I feel the course would benefit from having a more hands on approach, for example if LPR reviews continued from the staff at the AMA, this would give apprentices a channel to gain advice and share any concerns.

The support from the team I am on is good. I find that on the shop floor, its the ex apprentices that are the best people to be around as they have a good idea of what jobs the current apprentices should be on. Much of the staff are ex RAF (especially on my team) and don't show a lot of appreciation for my lack of knowledge on the jet. I feel an improvement would be to 'buddy up' apprentices with recent graduates, if at all possible.

At present, my salary covers what it needs to. However this is due to increase as I progress through the apprenticeship, so is not a concern. In a general sense I feel the apprenticeship from BAE is very well paid overall.

This is an area I feel could be improved. there are clubs/events on site however finding out about them is a mission. I feel this information should have been given out in the induction.

Yes

Overall, I think the apprenticeship is a good step into the engineering world. it provides experience with many core components of the field, such as manufacture, repair, etc. The company is good, however apprentices are made to feel "bottom rung" in a way - although there is plenty of support from the other members of staff.

I don't feel any advice would be necessary. The communication from BAE systems during the onboarding/application process was great. All information was made available to me to be successful.