Technical Apprentice Review

Technical apprenticeship - 7 different placements. Job is currently working in supersonic wind tunnel, doing calibrations on strain gauge balances and model installations. Model configuration changes are also carried out when needed.

Learnt hands on skills such as correct manufacturing and finishing methods. Health and safety training, customer skills such as emailing and telephone calls.

Once you get into the swing of things, the placements are very enjoyable. It usually takes a couple of weeks to settle in and make contacts. The teams are very helpful and usually have many years experience (20+). Safety is always a priority and inductions are always carried out before each placement.

In this placement I have felt very valued. This is because they were short staffed at the begining of the year and I have helped them out hugely. I have been very involved with the work and have developed lots in the past 4 months.

The program is very structured. Some placements are not very structured and dont really know what sort of work to give to apprentices. The support is always there from employees. Studying is quite good here, I had already completed A Levels so the first year was quite repetative. When moving onto HNC I have learnt lots about Aeronautical Engineering and it has helped me to understand things more during my apprenticeship.

There is a review every 12 weeks with my assessor. This allows me to highlight any areas of support that are needed. At the end of each placement you also have to do a short presentation to your management and assessor. This is a good opportunity to offer recommendations to the placement, to make it better for apprentices in the future.

There is lots of support from the employer. There is always flexibility when you need it and lots of support is offered.

The salary is quite good, my personal outgoings are quite high so I have around £400 to myself each month. Sometimes I have to commute 30 miles to work each way, which costs quite alot in fuel, even driving an economical diesel. My social spending is very low, as I do not go out drinking or go to pubs. Warton site is the closest to me, which takes around £20 a week in fuel. Being paid monthly is good thing, as it ties up will with direct debits.

The working hours allow to you to get involved with many other things outside of work. You can finish from 3:30pm so you can do something in the evening. You can also build up flexi time, entitling you to a day off without using your holiday allowance. Before working here I was a student at Blackpool Sixth Form and was applying to go to university.

Yes

It's a great place to work and offers huge amounts of personal development. You could also be working on ground-breaking stuff, which you feel very satisfied doing. The company is that wide that you will most certainly find a job that is suited perfectly to you.