Apprentice Engineering Technician Review

I am an engineering apprentice in the first year of training. On a Monday there is the BTEC part of the course which involves a day of teaching in multiple subjects. The rest of the week I am currently in the training workshop learning core engineering skills such as; Electrical, Hand fitting/machining and Mechanical.

Yes I have learnt new skills participating in the apprenticeship programme. I undertook basic engineering at school, and have built on these skills. I have learned new skills in other areas of the course such as the electrical rotation and also within the machining element of hand fitting, and how to program and use PLC’s.

I enjoy the apprenticeship program at BMW Group because you get a very good sense of working within a team, and the working environment is very good. The training provided by the college onsite at BMW is also very good, and the tutors are always willing to help you even if you require additional help.

I feel valued by the BMW Group as they value their apprentices highly, this can be seen when walking around site and when in the training environment. Apprentices get treated with the same respect as full time employees, and have access to all of the same “perks” BMW provide. There is a wide range of apprentices across the UK and worldwide.

The apprentice program run by BMW Group is very well organised. This is due in part because the training provider is based on site for the first year, and they are always there to assist with the organisation of assignments. The assignments are spread evenly and communicated well to the students.

The amount of support provided by the training provider varies per subject, this is because I find some areas more challenging than others. In the challenging areas the support is there to increase learning, and in areas that are less challenging there is a relaxed approach to support due to there being little support required.

BMW Group are very supportive when undertaking the program as they have an “open door” policy and are very approachable if there is a problem. They also have 3 monthly one to one meetings to discuss progress and any issues that may be occurring and also weekly team meetings for any group issues.

The salary as an apprentice is very good if you have not had a job previously. If you have had a job before the apprenticeship, the step down in salary can put pressure onto costs such as commuting, and difficult to save money. There is a car scheme available, but this is only really accessible to those living within a smaller distance to the site

Outside of work there are not many opportunities, with a large group of apprentices it is quite hard to all do something outside of work. There is a mountain challenge available for all the employees, but opportunities elsewhere are limited; for example taking part with the race team activities took a while get a response.

Yes

Yes I would recommend BMW Group to a friend as the company as a whole is very good to work for with plenty of opportunities to progress through the company and also across different business groups within the company. The BMW Group also treat their employees well in terms of salary and company benefits.

The application process was simple and could be done easily online, the interview process was friendly and not intimidating. There were some online tests, and also some basic problem solving tasks within a group and also individually. After you first join the on boarding process involves a residential team building trip to get to know all of the other apprentices.