Higher engineering apprentice Review

I get a choice of placements and spend 4 months in 6 different placements, on a Monday I go to college to get my HND level 5, and im constantly working towards my NVQ level 4. Depending on the placement I am in will depend on what I do. It can be a mixture of hands on work and computer based design. You get to meet many people in the company and interact with many of them. Usually you are given a project in a placement and with as much or as little help you will complete this project. These can also have lot's of responsibility with them. overall you get to do a range of experiences.

Yes in my first year I achieved a HNC level 4 and now working towards a HND level 5, I will also achieve a NVQ level 4 and also lots of hands on experience in your placements, you get up on lots of training courses, and learn lots of hands on experience, with lots of skills that you pick up from people you work with.

I enjoy the programme very much, it's a nice atmosphere to work in and I've met lots of people, both on my course and when working in placements. it met my expectations very well, and was worth doing. The company itself respects all there workers and treats you with respect

I feel valued in BAE in many ways, my manager praises for the work I do and also for college work. When in placements you placement manager will be responsibly for you, the recognise the work you do and they show appreciation for it, you don't feel like a wasted part or an unvalued worker. I was working a small project which came apart of a big project and it meant having to show my work to higher managers and teams, this made me feel very important

The programme is very well organised, you have a first year of training then move on to a week or training courses before working in the work place, this is all set out very well. you always have support studying if it is needed and you can also ask people for help and advice with having a buddy in the older years.

You receive lots of training support if it's needed, you have our manager, your placement manager, your NVQ assessor and any of your lectures at college. if you have any problems with any of these things then you will always have someone to go to.

Again you receive lots of support from your training provider, this includes a weekly session to talk to out manager about any issues or problems that we could be having in our placement or with other workers, In you placement you can also tell any problems to you placement manager. We also have represent ivies that feed information up the company so it gets heard, these then go to meeting in which the issues are spoken about

The salary pack is reasonable for an apprenticeship, I moved out of my parents house and live in a shared house, in my first year I got by comfortable and with the increase each year I am able to save a lot more this year than my first. The location is fairly cheap and there is lots of public transport.

Yes there are many opportunities outside of work, you get to get involved with Stem projects, these involved going into local schools and promoting STEM the company will also pay for this. You will also go on an outward bound trip in you second year at the lake district. You also have access to the gym and discount on many things like cinema tickets.

Yes

Because it a great experience and it opens many opportunities, the Pay is respectable and it can lead onto much larger opportunities. It's an amazing thing to do and it's a great alternative to uni

Make sure you do your research for the interview process and be enthusiastic about the apprenticeship, tell them about any small bits of experience that you might have, everything helps. And be yourself during the interview process and prepare to work in teams.