Manufacturing Technical Apprentice Review

Job title - Manufacturing Technical Apprentice (On placement in Project Management) Daily tasks - Reporting to supervisor with any work I complete, relating to the costing of repairing different advanced targeting lasers and the faults they exhibit Daily Interactions (int) - With my supervisor, my team (3 others), my IPT (8 others) and my department lead Daily interactions (ext) - N/A Projects - F15/16 Sniper ATP, F-35 EOTS and Apache M-TADs

Qualifications - working towards SVQ in Engineering systems College attendance - Tuesdays at Edinburgh College Personal skills - more confident presenter, greater team working skills, greater solo working skills

On a day to day basis I do enjoy my programme. My teams I am part of have always been friendly and very open to helping me wherever they can. I find the work fulfilling and I feel as though the services I am working towards matter to the safety of the general public. The company does take care of us and has met my expectations so far

I do feel as though I am valued by Leonardo. Despite a large intake of apprentices this year, I feel the company has plans for all of us in the long run. My managers are always quick to hand out praise to the deserving and there are a plethora of internal recognition awards on offer (Apprentice of the year, etc). External recognition is also available. I feel involved in all of my projects and I do also feel as though they are important and worthwhile

The programme is well structured. The induction is a 2 week course into how the business works and what markets we operate in. The training is a 6 month full time college course at Edinburgh college where you are taught about Design, project management and mechanical/electrical principles. Apprentices then go onto a 3 month rotation around each industry in the business to gain experience. Each apprentice is delegated an SVQ assessor for whom they will complete logs for experience. The teams are appropriately structured and you will work in small groups of 5-10 people.

Once a week I receive mandatory awareness sessions which inform us more about a different department and what they do. I meet with my SVQ assessor once a month to discuss my logs and progress. My assessor is open, accessible and always keen to help me whenever he can.

My employer is always keen to support me whenever possible, offering monthly and quarterly meetings to check up on us all and see how we are doing. My manager is open and always keen to help. I have not had any contact with HR yet. As previously stated my mentor is accessible and more than willing to help when possible.

The salary is more than sufficient for an apprentice. Although I would say that more money would naturally be better (of course) the current salary and increases are more than enough. Travel costs for me generally sit at around £25 in petrol a week and I stay with my parents so living costs are low. Daily and social costs are not applicable and the location is only 17 miles away from my home.

The company has many people who are keen members of different clubs, groups, teams etc. Where possible, apprentices are encouraged to always volunteer for extra curricular events for charities and other local companies to help out where possible

Yes

I already have recommended Leonardo to my friends and family. I always say that if they are interested in working on next-gen technology in a growing field with the most experienced people in the trade then they should submit an application

Apply as soon as possible as the intake of apprentices has been rising as more and more people apply. Complete the online tests as soon as possible and to the best of your ability