Apprentice Fitter Review

Apprentice fitter, shadow employees and learn various skills through on the job training. There are various job packs we have to complete during our apprenticeship which consist of carrying out jobs; such as hydraulic installations.

I have learned various new skills during my apprenticeship. I have learned a wide range of fitting skills which benefit my apprenticehsip and i can use these in my future job role. I have been on various courses, such as; health and safety, DMS, manipulator course. I have learned how the compnay works and its procedures.

I enjoy my programme as it is interesting and beneficial to my job. You are constantly working as part of a team and the environment this makes is a good environment to work in. The culture of the compnay is good and employees are well looked after with most aspects of work.

There are a large variety of sections at BAE systems and some vary to others. The majority of sections you feel valued as an employee as there is good xommunication with management and recognition is shown for good work. Although there are some exceptions to this.

The apprenticeship structure is good to an extent, everything which needs to be covered always is and in the most beneficial way to you and the company. You can easily see the various progression routes and you can see yourself progressing at all times. The college courses are good and well organised. Although on some occasions placements have been frustrating as they have not been relevant to your job, which makes it in turn more difficult to gain all the knowledge criteria you have to obtain to complete your apprenticeship.

Support is provided whenever it is needed. The company is understanding and usually tries to solve a situation rather than ignoring your needs. As regards to NVQ support it good and there is usually someone who can answer your questions.

The employer provides support in a wide variety of areas. It gives you discount of things such as dental appointments. Also you find in some of the section the managers are keen to have apprentices which makes the experience far better as it involves you more within the business and section. The mentors you are put with are usually good, although there are some which do not want to help you learn and would rather get on with the job at hand. An improvement for this could be to select specific mentors on each section who want to have apprentices, this would make the experience far better.

The salary for an apprenticeship is good. Although in general terms it is not a good wage to start with. For older apprentices such as myself, being 22, the wage is not very good and is sometimes a struggle.

There are various oppourtunities outside work, for example every year the apprentices participate in a football tournament within the company. There are also other sporting clubs involved with BAE systems.

Yes

It is a good place to work and is an interesting job. The company looks after its employees and the future job prospects are good. he company provides a good working environment and has a lot of good benefits, such as good holidays per year.

To know exactly what your applying for, i.e engineering aircraft. Knowing what the company does is essential and should be high on ther agenda for the interview process. Also part of the application process is to bring in a project, make sure the project is to do with engineering and you can describe what exactly you have done, make it interesting and bring in if possible.