Technical Apprentice Review

I am a technical apprentice, for my day to day tasks I move between different departments on a 6 weekly basis. I have worked on very interesting projects with some great teams. The responsibilities are from being safe to making sure that I do all of my college work on time.

I have passed a PEO level 2, my first year of my NC in electronic engineering and I'm hoping to go to my HNC next year. I have done multiple training courses from how to use the intranet to how to solder.

I have really enjoyed the apprenticeship so far, the teams I have worked in have made this apprenticeship more enjoyable. The company have offered me many opportunities from travelling for a competition to helping me understand software. The apprenticeship has exceeded all expectations.

I feel valued in BAE Systems, in the teams I have helped they have appreciated the help I have given them. I also feel valued as we get told what's happening in the company and if we need help we can ask for it and the help will be there.

The programme is well structured, I believe the college could be better structured but that isn't directly part of the apprenticeship structure. I have a two weekly review meeting for my NVQ to further my knowledge and if I need help then I can ask for help in the meetings.

My training provider has offered me a lot of help through the apprenticeship. I joined the company straight from GCSE's which is a very big jump from the school world to the working world. Whenever I ask for help the training team will do everything possible to get the help I need.

My employer is willing to help anyone who asks for the help. The way he helps you is he guides you where to go but he doesn't do it for you. This means you may make small mistakes but you learn even more then if you got told what to do. I cannot fault the support I received.

The salary package is better then I expected. At the end of each month after bills I have enough money to myself to do what I want to do. One other good thing about the salary is they don't discriminate you if your young. You get paid the same as the other apprentices even if they are 5 years older then you.

There are activities that the company offer like going to London or Air shows. They also offer it at a discounted price for employees. You can go to the company health classes, they give you information about local gyms and you meet new people at the company who organise nights out.

Yes

The apprenticeship is one of the best things I have done, I would recommend it to anyone as the skills you learn while working at BAE Systems will help you no matter where you go to in the future.

The main tips are try hard in your education, remember to be polite as they are the ones who can offer you the job. Relax on your interview as they want to see what you can do.