Pipefitter Review

I am a pipefitter and i am based between our two sites on the clyde. During my apprenticeship i spend time in the pipe manufacture shop and also spend time fitting pipes on the ship. My daily roles range from bolting out pipes to hangering them to making and altering the pipes to fit. On a day to day basis i deal with my supervisor who does all of my time keeping and gives me jobs. My training officer allocates the placements that I do and also marks my log book as i progress.

during my apprenticeship i have already completed a level 2 qualification and i am now working towards a level 3 qualification. I am also attending college 1 day a week to study a HNC in fabrication and welding. On the job i have leard lots of skills which are both specific to my job and also more general skills which could apply to other jobs. I have also attended lots of training courses within the company both for health and safety purposes and also to expand my skill base.

I do enjoy my job because i have always worked with a good team of tradespeople who have a very large knowledge base from which i can learn my trade. the job that i do everyday meets very closely with what i had expected when i started with the company.

I feel very valued in BAE systems as there is always lots of oppertunities offered to me. i also feel appreciated from my manager and supervisor as they are always thanking me for my effort and always give me the reviews that i feel i deserve for the work i have done.

My program is quite well organised although there is some problems which could be rectified. training and inductions are always very well organised and are always availble when they are required. I also recieve 2 hours a week where i can log onto a computer to work on my log book and if i need to complete college work i can also use that time to work on that as well. I do sometimes feel like feedback can be quite slow while i am working on my log book as it can take a few weeks to get stuff marked because the training officers are too busy and are streatched too thin. i feel the organisation and structure could be improved by employing another training officer to relieve the team from some dutys and allow them more time to do work place visits or to mark log books.

When ever i need support from my training officer i get all the support i need. He is very easy to contact as i can email, text or phone him with any problems and he will get back to me as soon as he can solve the problem.

My manager and supervisors are all very approachable and very suportive when ever you have a problem you can talk to them and they will try to help you to the best of there ability and if they cant help they can point you in the direction of someone who can help you. the companys HR team are not very supportive as it takes them so long to give feed back if you have a problem which needs there assistance.

My salary meets my costs very well and i never feel like i am too short of cash. My costs are slightly lower than my salary but this leaves only a small margin for saving.

The company does have certain opportunities outside of work time but they are not very well comunicated if you wanted to join an acctivity you would have to go try find it instead of it being advertised.

Yes

I would recomend it to a friend as it is a large company with security and also lots of oppertunities to improve yourself as a person. I would also recommend a BAE Systems apprenticeship as it is the only company that i know off with the resorces to provide training and development to the standard at which i recieve training.

I would advise them to be ready for a tricky and challanging assessment process designed to test you to see if you are good enough to learn the trade. I would also recommend them to be ready for a very in depth interview where they would need to shine as they could be up against hundreds of people going for the same job.