Higher Apprentice Review

Work varies depending upon whereabouts you are in the business. We rotate around 'placements' which offer different environments for us to engage in. By doing this, we experience both the practical and office aspects of the business which gives an apprentice a good scope of activities, until we exit off the scheme.

Due to the variety of work undertaken there is plenty of opportunity for us to develop skills. For me it is apparent that I have increased in confidence massively since entering the business and it has allowed me to fully interact with people to get the most out of my apprenticeship; by asking questions you gain a lot more than remaining quiet, pretending to understand something.

I do not regret undertaking the programme whatsoever. Although the expectation to produce 'good work' is high, you are fully supported in all your efforts and the Placement Managers encourage questions. Equally, the college experience allows us to progress our studies further with the aid of fully qualified Tutors, who again provide an excellent additional support network.

Moving into a working environment and advancing in your career is a very daunting experience that everyone must undertake. Here at BAE, I found the step to be easy as there is a culture that allows people to speak out freely if they have any issues. They take an interest in everyone's general wellbeing and aim to make sure employees are happy in the workplace which enables people to perform their best.

Immediately it was apparent that the scheme I am on was very organised. After the initial induction week, there is a scheme specific induction where I was given the chance to meet the other apprentices. To determine what placements people are going to, there was a 'tracker' which displayed our entire time until we exit.

On our scheme we attend college 1 day a week. This means as well as the onsite support we also have external support we can talk to as well. Every 12 weeks we have a review whereby we discuss feedback from both our placement manager and college tutors to ensure we are performing as expected or provide an intervention if required.

Our placement manager play a major role in our development as typically this is the person whom we interact with everyday. It is therefore very important and beneficial that they are attentive when providing support. Often being the experts in their field you gain a lot of knowledge and they understand the support that an apprentice requires to develop.

The salary is very competitive, regardless of age. Having an apprenticeship has huge financial benefits compared to university. It enables you to pay bills and then still have money left over for luxury items such as holidays, new car, shopping etc. It also makes you manage your pay properly as there is less reliance on parents/relatives for income.

Many activities are available outside of the workplace. Often there are a variety of external events that you can attend including: BBQs, Social Events, Trips Away, Team Events, Charity Events. Depending upon what you enjoy there are also sports clubs that many attend like badminton. Each year the opportunities change as new employees enter the business so there is always something different going on.

Yes

The decision to join BAE was without doubt the right one for me. In comparison to the University experience, I feel I still get the experience but with added benefits. By working in industry you gain a huge amount of knowledge that you otherwise couldn't gain anywhere else and still meet many different people.

To gain the full experience you must ask questions. It is the single most important aspect of work. By doing this you can gain much more knowledge than remaining quiet and it will serve you well later on in your apprenticeship.