Maintenance Technician Review

My job title is Maintenance Technician. At the moment I am at college learning about Fluid Power, Robotics, CNC, Milling and other subjects as well as BTEC. The programme is very structured and I have a good understanding of where I should be throughout the year. The teachers are supportive and provide me with additional help if I feel I need it. I am often involved in course meetings, where the college invites you to provide feedback on your course and experience. This is informative and helps the college to improve their actions, making it a better experience for BMW students.

Since starting college, I have developed a large amount of skills in a short period of time. Having never done Milling and Turning in the past, the way the programme was taught allowed me to pick up these skills very quickly. I had some existing skills, and the assessors helped me improve them without being overpowering. If there are people in the class who are of a lower ability, we are not held behind and they do not fall behind either. The trainers are very supportive of everybody and do not make you feel stressed during the learning stages and is completed at a comfortable pace.

I enjoy the programme a lot, mainly because of the variety of subjects I get to learn. The subjects are very enjoyable and challenging at the same time. The team I work with are friendly, whilst the other students from different companies are welcoming and will always be willing to lend a hand with any work that you are finding difficult. The programme is structured and I understand the skills that I will have obtained by the end of the year. The company culture is excellent and when we have been involved in corporate events, people are really friendly and are keen to know how you are progressing. It has exceeded my expectations and I thoroughly enjoy the programme.

I do feel valued by BMW and this is seen with the regular review meetings with my manager. If I have any concerns then I know I can contact them at any time. Although we are based off site at the moment, we are invited to staff events at the plant and encouraged to get involved with other plants. I feel like we are integrated into the BMW group, just the same as if we were at the plant. I would like more involvement, however it is difficult at this stage with the amount of work that is required from us during college.

The programme is structured and we have a list of the modules we should complete and when by. The only concern is sometimes the length of modules is too short for us to complete and it can often be quite stressful and we run over the deadline. There is plenty of support from managers and other apprentices who will always ask how we are getting on and if we have any concerns. Other apprentices will offer advice based on their experiences which is helpful. I would suggest having a mentor system in place whilst at college in the first year as sometimes we are left in the dark. The logistics of going back into plant and any external trips is made clear to us well in advance.

I receive a lot of support from my training provider, both at college and at BMW group itself. The tutors at college can be contacted at any time and are more than happy to speak to you if you have any concerns. If there are any concerns with the training at college, BMW will assist and rectify the problem. All of the managers at BMW can easily be contacted via email, phone or text and so it is reassuring if a problem was to arise, they would be available to talk.

We receive a lot of support from BMW Group and we can always contact our manager at any time via text, email or phone. They will always ask on regular occasions if we have got any concerns and will always act on them immediately. The regular review meetings every three months are a good guide to see how well we are doing and it allows us to create our own targets and aim to achieve them.

The salary is excellent and there are performance related pay rises two times a year. Having a car on the scheme does not impact the salary much and is plenty for the living, travel and daily costs I have. The pension which goes out before tax is another incentive and helpful to keep overall costs down. The car scheme is excellent for young drivers who need to save money from the insurance and represents the company in a positive manner.

There are not many opportunities outside of work. I feel like BMW could involve us more in volunteering and social opportunities that other colleagues on site can be involved in. This would help us get to know more people before we go on site so we are more comfortable. Being a college with others is good as we are socialising and getting to know the other apprentices as well which will be helpful when we go to plant.

Yes

I would recommend BMW Group as a great place to work for all of the reasons I have suggested before. The salary is excellent and rises to more than what I was expecting before I started. The support system at plant is second to none. Working for BMW is really flexible too and it provides an excellent opportunity to progress yourself both personally and professionally.

The application process is tough and I would suggest studying maths in order to prepare for the psychometric tests. I would say to be yourself at assessment days as the interviewer will always know who is trying too hard or not being themselves. Talk to other people on the assessment day, ask them how they feel and just remember that the interviewer was in your position once.