Design Engineering Technician Apprentice Review

My job title is Design Engineering Technical Apprentice. Day to day tasks vary per placement. Some of my day to day tasks have been programming environmental chambers, running vibration profiles, designing cables and breakout boxes, writing parts of code for software, calibrating and maintaining various test sets, writing first article inspection documents, raising concessions. Internally, I communicate with personnel within my working group to carry out various tasks. I have also interacted with external customers through offsite visits to Gosport I England and Cochin in India. Besides being busy with departmental work day to day there is opportunity to complete SVQ and college work.

Throughout my time at Leonardo I have gained my Performing Engineering Operations qualification and will end up obtaining my SVQ Level 3 and a HND in Engineering Systems. I have had awareness sessions internally for departments such as mechanical, electrical and quality. These all made me more aware of what these departments do and how they fit in within the business. Externally, I have been on a DFM training course which took part at BAE. Within my placements I feel I have increased my communication skills by talking to a variety of different people in different jobs day to day. I have gained confidence through this and also through having to give multiple presentations. I have developed a whole range of practical skills from how to use different pieces of software to design and build test equipment. I have learnt to not be scared to ask questions and to always try my best regardless of the task at hand.

The work I carry out is highly enjoyable and varies day to day. All the people I have worked with have been easy to get on with and have made coming to work enjoyable. Within the company everyone is willing to help and everyone strives to do their best together. I enjoy the programme I am on but would like more design work as my job title has the word design in it but I have not encountered as much design work as I would have hoped to.

I have received two lots of £50 gift vouchers one for my work offsite and one for designing a new PCB for a piece of test equipment. This made me feel valued and made the work worthwhile. Internally I have been recognised for the charity work me and some other apprentices done for the AFPST charity. After volunteering I feel like there is little recognition from the apprentice management team and there has been no external recognition for me. When working on projects I have been carrying out tasks which contribute to that project therefore I had to attend meetings and give my input which made me feel valued and part of a team.

I was given a 2 day induction before heading off to college and then a 2 week induction when returning to the company after being at college for 5/6 months. The 2 week induction was mostly filled with power-points. I would have liked more practical work and opportunities to meet the people we would actually be working with. There are various awareness sessions that take place for training and there are a select few training sessions. I would like to see more training sessions getting introduced. There is no flexibility in deciding what placements you go into. Some departments have a laid down route for the apprentice and you know what jobs to expect (with occasional other jobs) but other departments do not have a lot of work for the apprentice, I feel like all departments should have a plan for the apprentice. Within my departments I have had time to carry out college work if needed and there is also time for SVQ work.

Support is widely accessible through the apprentice management team and they are always ready to guide you through any problems or support you need. However, I have had some problems at college which have not been dealt with as quickly as I would have liked. With regards to my SVQ my assessor and I meet regularly and they have been a great help so far.

From the employer the support is incredible. The apprentice team are always on hand if there is a problem and are more than happy to help, you can speak to them about anything.

The salary increases every year where I receive a letter in August detailing how much it is increasing to and the new increased wage starts in September. The pay has met my expectations and is a competitive salary. On both my trips all expenses were paid and this is the same throughout the company which is excellent. I would however, like to see travel expenses for volunteering paid for as I feel this would mean more people actively volunteer.

There are numerous volunteering opportunities outside of work that you can get involved with. This gets you out in to the local schools and community. Through working at Leonardo you are eligible to receive a free Edinburgh leisure gym membership which I utilise often. I would however like to be enlightened on more opportunities outside of work as I feel I am not aware of a lot.

Yes

Leonardo is a leading company in the defence industry that is constantly moving forwards. The work I carry out is interesting and I thoroughly enjoy it. The people are easy to get on with and are always on hand to help. You can learn and develop a whole new level of skills through working practically on new technology and theoretically by gaining a qualification at college. This is an excellent company who look after their employees and there are endless opportunities.

The application process is rigorous but my advice would be to try your hardest at them. I would read up on the company and prepare well for the interview and the assessment centre. Once in the company I would try my hardest to get to know as many people as possible. I wish I had more of a chance to get information of current apprentices.