Craft Apprentice Review

I am currently a Craft Apprentice for Leonardo, my daily tasks include working with experienced engineers to develop my knowledge, understanding and skills within each department I visit. My responsibilities are to provide correct and accurate work for every build, to create good working relationships with those I am involved with and to learn and understand how each department works and runs on a daily basis.

During my apprenticeship, I am attending college which will result in the achievement of gaining a NC in Engineering Systems. In addition, I also attend several awareness sessions which are to increase my knowledge and understanding of all aspects of the business - these have helped me to gain a widened knowledge of the business and become a massive advantage when entering departments.

The work we are given is to a standard that is challenging yet with guidance is achievable. Everyone I have worked with is willing to help and support me whenever I have misunderstandings or do the work incorrect. The programme exceeded my expectations as it allows for growth and development in every aspect of the business and you are treated like a valued employee and not a trainee who doesn't know what they're doing.

The management team are understanding and always willing to help and guide all Apprentices in the right direction. Departments show recognition from the minute you walk in, if you're good at something they will recognise you for this and continue to challenge this in order for you to excel even more. I have been involved in several tasks and projects within the departments I have visited, all employees give you equal opportunities and challenges and allow you to complete work individually instead of constantly supervised.

The inductions we received were insightful and interesting, they helped us to understand what was expected of us and gave us guidance on how we were to achieve these in the business. The training is well structured and well organised, it allows for all Apprentices to develop their skills or learn new skills dependant on what they knew before starting their Apprenticeship. We attend Apprentice Meetings every month to share any information or generate ideas on how we can improve the Apprenticeship for ourselves and for future Apprentices. The programme on a whole is well organised, interesting and intriguing.

During the Apprenticeship, we are allocated SVQ Assessors who are always on hand to encourage us and to give us expert advice on how to excel in our departments and with the work we are required to complete in order to achieve the SVQ. My Assessor is always available whenever I need support by simply phoning or emailing them. He is always supportive and readily available for any questions or enquiries I may have. My Assessor started off as a Apprentice so he understands the duties we have to carry out, it is also useful as he understands the difficulties we may face when completing logs and cross referencing for our SVQ folder.

The management team for Apprentices within Leonardo are very helpful, they're always on hand to help with any issues or problems we are to face during our placements but also send us emails to remind us of any upcoming meetings or awareness sessions we are to attend which is useful if you forget to put it in our calendars online. They clarified at the inductions that if we face any issues or problems during placements then we shouldn't hesitate to contact them which shows they're willing to provide support whenever we need it.

The salary that we are provided with is adequate however, I always find I struggle after 2 weeks of being paid as fuel and living costs exceed those of what I receive on a monthly basis.

The company holds several events in which the Apprentice team are asked to attend or we have the opportunity to volunteer to help out with setting up venues or attending schools to give talks on our experiences with the company and with being an Apprentice. We also receive a free full gym membership with Edinburgh Gyms which is useful as it means we don't have to spend any money on memberships. We are also given the opportunity to attend any events we think would be useful to Apprentices (this is to be clarified with management prior to attending) this could be visited to our old High Schools or to Universities.

Yes

It is a fantastic place to work and it provides a lot of room for career development. The staff are always on hand to help and you never feel like you aren't good enough to be in the departments. The works and projects you are assigned to complete are always to a level that will allow you to develop as a person but also to develop your knowledge and understanding of the expectations and targets to be met each month. It is a good first step into the Engineering Industry with many routes to progress.

During the Application process/interviews, I think you just need to be polite and enthusiastic to show the assessors that you're willing to work hard and worthy of a place on the Apprenticeship programme with Leonardo. I think its important to communicate with other applicants during assessment centres to show you can create good working relationships with others. If you are lucky enough to achieve a position, then on the induction days, take notes of things you feel will be necessary as you can use them as a reference for future and allows for you to obtain the contact details of members of staff you're working with.