Mechanical Engineer Review

At the moment I am currently training in various different engineering departments to gain knowledge in many different areas. This covers turning, milling, assembly and many other sections. For this reason, our workload changes from day-to-day, but it tends to be very practical but also includes written work for technical instructions of jobs we have completed.

I have learnt many new skills both practical and academic. We cover NVQ's in a range of engineering sections such as machining, drawing, electrical and project management. I have also learnt personal skills from courses covering personal finance and driving awareness.

I find my programme very enjoyable, we work with high quality equipment in a modern and clean workshop environment. The instructors that teach us are very easy to get along with. I believe the apprenticeship did meet my expectations as I believed Rolls-Royce was a good company to work for and the apprenticeship has proven that.

I feel valued by Rolls-Royce as all the instructors take their time to ensure that you have understood what they are teaching and the communication is good when sending work and waiting for feedback.

The programme is well structured, with a week long induction process in order to learn all about the company and meet everybody that you will work with before you begin working. There is a lot of support and all of the instructors are easy to reach and will help with any work. There are frequent team meetings on fridays to bring up and address and issues.

I recieve a lot of support from the individual instructors and they all work to ensure that we get our work completed to a high standard. Our tutors also have regular meetings with us, one to one, to assess how everything is going and to address any issues we may have, or if we are having any difficulties.

We also recieve a lot of support from our employer, and the HR team are easy to contact through a company phone and they will often solve most problems. There is also an ethics line that can be contacted if we have any issues. We are also encouraged by our employer to live a healthy lifestyle and have an on site medical department.

I feel that my salary covers my own personal costs as I live at home, so my living costs are small. However, I don't feel like it covers some of my colleagues costs that live away from home and have to pay rent. I believe the salary is a little lower than that of some other apprenticeships.

There is an apprenticeship club called AGA which organises many social activities and sports events that all apprentices can attend. There is also a gym on site which has good facilities and is affordable. There are also rugby and running clubs.

Yes

I would recommend Rolls-Royce as I still believe it is a very good company to work for, and I believe that they support us well. I believe I have learnt a range of very valuable skills and the facilities for learning are fantastic. Everyone within the company is helpful and friendly and it is a nice atmosphere to work within.

Apply early on and do a lot of research into the business to ensure that you are very aware of who Rolls-Royce are and what they do. The interview process is quite long, but it is also relaxed and I would recommend not worrying about the process and just being calm and relaxed in order to allow the assessors to recognise your enthusiasm for engineering and the company.