Engineering Technician Review

The structure of my apprenticeship is a 4 year course where I spend the first year in the mini-cademy and then 3 years on placement. In my current year I spend Monday doing academic work which includes assignments. The rest of the week is spent down in the workshop where we learn practical skills. The practical skills include, welding, electrical circuits and PLC's

I have learn alot so far. I had never welded before and now I am comfortable to work with both MMA and TIG welding. This is a skill that ois considered quite difficult to learn but the instructors supervising us helped to ensure we have the right training. I have developed my skills on machinery such as lathes. I now feel confident and can work to high tolerances which will come in handy in the future. The degree that the apprenticeship offers is not only essential for the job role that I am seeking but having the relavant real life work experience on the side is exactly what I need.

I thoroughly enjoy the programme. I enjoy the work that I get up to at the moment. I also know that in the future years I will get the chance to work in important areas of the company. BMW are looking forward into electric vehicles and joining the apprenticeship now allows me to not only see the next generation of vehicles but also to be a part of developing them. I enjoy working in such a close proximity to the biggest developers of cars and the apprenticeship allows me to work with managers who have had years experience in the industry.

I feel that the BMW group value the apprentices. They know that we are the future of the company and they treat us as such. We are open to the same benefits as other employees and they offer us good pension schemes. They also listen to us as well. If we are struggling or need some equipment for training, or even if we have any problems there is always someone looking out for us. They offer extra academic training outside of work hours if it is needed and they make sure no one is left behind. They understand that we work hard and we get bonuses for doing so. Generally I am very happy with how we are valued and it makes me want to come to work.

Overall the apprenticeship is very well organised. The academic side is well structured. The lessons are well taught and there is time to complete the task and ensure we are understanding the subjects. The time spent is the workshop is also organised although sometimes we are a bit tight on time for finishing each rotation. On the other hand we still are all on track and up to date. Some of the area around the apprenticeship such as meeting with placement managers aren’t as organised as I had hoped for them to be, but this is due to large change in the current managers with new employees coming in.

We receive a lot of support from the training provider. We have individual meetings every few months to check on our progress and how we feel about the apprenticeship. In the meeting we are asked a few questions and the information we give is taken and used to help improve our experience of the apprenticeship.

We receive some support from our employer and they are really looking to help improve the apprenticeship and train us to the best we can be. However we have lots of pressure put on us to make the apprenticeship area reach standards the same as the factory floor. We have a meeting every week where what needs to be done is discussed unfortunately instead of br8inging in someone to fix all of the issues we are taking hours and hours out of our learning time to complete them. I feel that this is an area that is slowing us down as I mentioned in question 5.

The salary is good. We are offered a steady salary that increases every 6 months due to meeting individual targets. We are offered to join the car scheme within 24 hours of joining the company which is a huge benefit allowing us access to new BMW's. Compared to other apprenticeships such as JLR we earn slightly less, but they are not offered a similar car scheme which I believe evens out the package. We also have a very good pension scheme which helps the apprentices save from an early age. Other benefits such as discounts from HP and Apple are a great perk to the job.

Yes there are opportunities to join the race team and you can put yourself forward for charity work. I have found that there is not much publicity of activities such as the race team and it seems quite a segregated group. There is an apprenticeship football team but again I haven’t seen how I can join and this is an area that need improving.

Yes

The apprenticeship I am on offers a full degree completely paid for by the company. This means I am going to be as qualified as anyone going to Uni but I will not suffer from the debt. At the same time I am receiving 4 years’ worth of work experience and the most valuable German automotive company. This experience alone is invaluable and wouldn't be the same if it was at another automotive or even engineering company. They have great benefits and offer a good salary. They will help you to achieve high results and make sure you are employable at the end of the apprenticeship, either by BMW or by another company. The contract that we have signed means you are free to leave after the apprenticeship at no cost. This compared to contracts at BMW's competitors JLR is so much better. The JLR contract states how the apprenticeship is 6 years long and you must work for the company for 3 years after that meaning you work for 9 years or you pay back for all the degree. I am thoroughly enjoying the apprenticeship and it is a great place to start a career.

Be honest on the application form, and try to get work experience in engineering organisations. You must be able to work well in teams and on your own so evidence of this is essential.