Project Management Apprentice Review

The role is predominantly project controls. I have been editing management plans for a bid, and creating a lot of diagrams to put into all our plans. I have been involved in a number of bid reviews and also been able to be involved in the financial side of the project which is interesting.

I have never worked on a bid before so that has been completely new to me, this has taught me more about BAE Governance and the processes that have to be followed to reach bid submission. I have also learnt more about using Microsoft project due to having to create numerous schedules. In the next couple of weeks I will also learn how to use the ERP System.

I enjoy learning new things on placement and being involved with the customer. The team is also lovely. I sometimes struggle as I am not that passionate about my role at the moment. I also don't particularly enjoy the unorganised college side of the course.

Yes, I have always felt valued in my placement. Obviously I still have a lot to learn, and occasionally apprentices don't always get recognition for work they have done, but I think that is down to experience and time in the business.

The programme is fairly well structured. The degree side of it has improved, however it still needs vast improvements and is badly organised. Our line manager is really helpful, however I feel that they have too much to do and splitting the role between two full time people would be beneficial. Perhaps one line manager for graduates and one for apprentices.

The support has improved since last term and our tutor is very friendly but I don't feel that the college have given him good enough training as I'm not sure he is always able to answer our questions. The college isn't very organised and this can often add to the stress, making us not feel supported.

We receive good support from our line manager, but as mentioned above, I think they have too much to do which limits our interaction with them greatly. I think it would be very beneficial to employ another person full time to help as this would increase our interaction and improve guidance with questions/problems.

It meets it fairly well, however considering that the living costs here are higher than up north, it seems odd that the apprentices up there get paid more than those in Portsmouth. The shares and pension option are both good.

Not particularly. I think that compared to the graduates, the apprentices have significantly less opportunities, it always seem to be down to budget, which seems unfair. I would greatly appreciate more opportunities outside of our placements. There aren't really any other opportunities with regards to classes/leisure, however our cohort does organised some social gatherings every so often.

Yes

I'd recommend it for experience, not sure I'd recommend the degree side of it at the moment though. It needs working on before I'd recommend it.

I'd say to push to do placements that you're really interested in as this really helps you to enjoy the apprenticeship. For the interviews I'd say to do some basic research around what BAE Systems is currently doing (recent bid wins etc.) so that you can be more knowledgeable in your interview.