Technical apprentice Review

Day-to-day work during my apprenticeship used to vary depending on which department I was in at the time. I could be on CAD in design, looking at graphs and data in the Structures department or answering customer queries in the Fleet Tech team. My role tended to change during each placement in BAE Systems.

During my time as an apprentice I learnt many new skills by using different databases and learning how to navigate through these and input work onto the systems. As well as this I improved my emailing skills as I had to send official and formal emails to other employees in a high role within the business.

I really enjoyed my programme, it was different and varied work I was given, everyone I worked with was friendly and I was looked after by each supervisor I was with in all the departments I went into during my apprenticeship. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and the experience really suited me as well.

I feel very valued by BAE Systems as they have invested their time and money into me and are helping me grow as a person and grow within the business too. I am always offered help by my apprenticeship leader and fellow co-workers. I feel as though I am well taken care of within the business.

My apprentice is very structured and organised by my apprenticeship leader. We are given a spreadsheet informing us as to what departments we are in for that year. Everything is organised prior to our start date and the plans can always be tweaked if any problems occur such as absent supervisors due to work overload.

I go to college every Monday on day release and I feel as though I receive a fair amount of support from my tutors. I know if we have any problems we can talk to them at college and we also have their email addresses too to email during the week. They try to help wherever possible and ask if we need help with assignment work too.

My employer/training provider gives us as much support as we need. Every time we have a chat with our apprenticeship leader he asks us how we are and if there’s anything he can do for us. He makes sure we have work to do in the department we’re in and we know how to complete this too. We have 12-week reviews with him too so he can track our progress.

My salary is really good considering I don’t have a full-time job and contract with BAE Systems yet. We have had our salary progressively increased as we have gone through the apprenticeship however the starting salary was really good considering the minimum wage for apprentices is so low. We definitely have not been on minimum wage.

There are many opportunities outside work. We are informed about different events and charity work in the local area of our site by internal emails sent to every employee. There is also a scheme for apprentices to help out in local schools and inspire other young school children at looking into engineering as their future career.

Yes

Yes I would definitely recommend the business and the apprenticeships on offer at BAE Systems as the work is varied and even if hands-on engineering isn’t for you, there are technical placements like mine which mainly consists of computer work or software apprenticeships too. I think there’s something for everyone and their work interests here.

When applying for an apprenticeship I would advise that you know about the company and the products we make and also some of the customers we deal with, this shows that you’ve made an effort when applying and you show willingness. Also ask questions and practice your interview and answers to what sort of questions they may ask you too.