Apprentice Review

The role varies as you rotate round placements. I am currently in Project Control, where I help update Primavera plans and take responsibility for certain projects and contracts. I attend cost at completion reviews. I was previously in IM Procurement, where I was responsible for writing Confidentiality Agreements, reviewing contracts, scoring competition, analysing KPIs and SLAs.

- Business Communication Skills - Contractual Knowledge - SAP Awareness - Presentation Skills - ARM Use / Risk Analysis - Primavera Awareness

I enjoy the rotation of placements as I feel the work is varied and it helps to keep motivation levels high. As an apprentice you work within a wide variety of teams, this means you make a vast amount of contacts throughout the programme which is good. The scheme has met my expectations and I have a lot more responsibility than I originally thought I would be given - which is good.

I feel valued by MBDA as we have reviews which means our managers will discuss with us our strengths and where there is room for improvement or to achieve more. External recognition is given through MBDA being placed within The Sunday Times Top 30 Best Big Companies to work for. In any tasks or projects I have been involved in there has always been a mention and appreciation for our involvement, such as the Poppy count, the charity dinner, Robot Rumble and school events and presentations.

The programme is very well structured, as there are core placements which signpost where we shall go within the scheme. However, new management has now made this more flexible, so that you are able to request to go to a particular placement, such as one that you feel would benefit your experience or that you would ideally like to get a job in. This is a very positive part of the apprenticeship.

Training is left to yourself and your line manager to decide and apply for, this process can be quite long and you are not guaranteed a place on the course. the training that is provided is very through and useful.

There is a good amount of support from the team with regular review and performance/behaviour based pay reviews means there is a good awareness of the standard of work expected from Apprentices. It is an independent choice of the individual if you would like a mentor, I have not yet asked for one but I think there is a procedure surrounding this and there is a mentor available for everyone if needed. There is good guidance from HR, as previously experienced, they treat problems carefully and with an unbiased approach. Our HR relation gave a range of solutions to problems.

The salary we are paid does meet my costs currently as I am living at home. After paying rent, travel expenses, daily expenses (such as lunch from the site), and social costs, there is not a very large amount remaining and I am currently saving for a house. But the pay rise opportunities we are given helps motivate me to perform above the expected in my placement, in order to gain this pay increase. Considering the rising property prices, it would be perhaps beneficial to increase the salary to match this - just to give younger people like myself a chance to get on the property ladder. As this is currently a big worry.

MBDA offers many outside of work opportunities. There is the social committee which provides discounted tickets for events, such as the theatre and Ascot. This is very popular. there are also many volunteering opportunities, for example I have taken part in the Charity Dinner, Robot Rumble, Poppy Count and also school careers fairs where I have give talks about the scheme and my experience of it.

Yes

This scheme provides you with a variety of experience and also gives a really good insight into helping guide you to developing a long term career plan, by demonstrating what you enjoy in the business environment. By getting part of the degree funded it also means there is a limited amount of debt.

To be prepared for balancing the work and university workload.