Year 3 Tech Apprentice Review

during the start of my apprenticeship i was given tours and information of the site and introduced to different departments and what each work these departments produced. As i rotate into different areas during my apprenticeship here at BAE Systems my work varies but i find it all enjoyable.

I have learnt new skills from the shop floor. During my first year we went to college and learnt sheet metal work and welding etc. and even though i am a technical apprentice we needed to know the basic skills. i have also developed my skills at fault finding as i have also worked within thew quality department.

i really enjoy my programme. each year is different and the work we do changes most weeks too. when moving departments you really get a good feel for where you want to end up and also what work best suits you and your skills. All my co-workers have been nice and supervisors have helped me out too.

i feel very valued by the company since they fund apprentices to go to college and then university as a full-time worker. They ensure we are treated right and do not feel over-worked or stressed at work too. we have 12 week reviews which also show that the company care for our wellbeing too.

my apprenticeship has overall been very well organised and structured great. The rotation for each department has always gone smoothly with the supervisors in each area being informed we are soon to be working with them too enabling them to prepare work and a plan for us when we do change department.

i receive a lot of support from my tutors. I have a main tutor who looks after the wellbeing of the class mainly and other tutors who teach us the engineering work however all of my tutors ask if we need help or are struggling on anything, we can also email them for help too and they also keep in touch with our work/apprentice leader.

lots of support. They try to see every apprentice once a week to ask us general questions, understand what work we are currently doing and how we are progressing through college and with college work as well. My apprentice leader is really friendly and chatty and it's nice that we can have informal conversations too.

my salary is really good, i am on more than a full-time employee minimum wage even though i am still on an apprenticeship. I think it helps we get wage rises when we complete each year of our NVQ and college work as it is an incentive to work harder too. I am really happy that i can save up for a car or flat.

There are emails sent weekly by staff in HR informing us on schemes the company are currently working on. They encourage staff to help out with charity events the company are involved with and there are other opportunities and ambassador schemes we can join too which help the local schools and community.

Yes

The company is really great and i couldn't reccomend it more if you are interested in engineerng of any kind, whether it's shop floor or technical/computer engineering. The appenticeship scheme is a great way to get your foot in the door into a career and also helping better improve your education too.

When you apply online the process is quite lengthy so you would definitely need a fair bit of time to write about yourself and fill out the online application form. If you are lucky enough to get an interview then read up on the business and show that you know about the products we make too etc. Talk about any charity work you've done as well.