Combat Systems Engineering Higher Apprentice Review

I work within the Combat Systems team in Scotstoun Shipyard, predominantly on the RCB2 project. Our apprenticeship involves 6 month placements where we shadow a professional engineer on their day to day job and learn about the design, installation, setting to work and testing of a specific system on the ship. I currently work within an office of about 10 Combat systems Engineers, each of whom look after a different system or discipline. It involves a mix of hands-on technical work on an in-build warship and the associated paperwork in the office that comes with it such as documentation, reports and spread sheets pertaining to our work on-board the ship.

Between our initial 9 month stint at West College Scotland and the current day-release to the college on Fridays, we have learned a mix of technical subjects including Cisco Networking, Microsoft Vender qualifications, and the HND in Computing that we're working towards. These qualifications don't really align with the work we currently do in the yard but we are ensured that they will become more relevant in future projects. While I personally enjoyed learning about Computing subjects in college, I do feel there could be other courses which would be more beneficial for the Combat Systems Apprenticeship and the jobs we are involved in currently. I feel the most beneficial place to learn new skills and develop existing skills is in the shipyard - shadowing an Engineer who is keen to push you out of your comfort zone, giving you some responsibility and empowering you with the inherent knowledge and confidence that you gain through such challenges. In some other placements you may spend 6 months sitting at a desk doing monotonous tasks day in day out almost left to your own devices which I feel can feel really discouraging. I have been lucky enough to have the former with 2 of my 4 placements so far and feel I have really grown within these placements.

I enjoy the variety of opportunities that BAE Systems provide. I have had some really fun and exciting experiences during my apprenticeship that I feel few apprenticeships could offer. If you manage to get yourself into a placement/role that you enjoy working in then you can come into work every day excited about what the day has in store. Again, I have been one of the lucky ones to have these experiences.

For my first placement I expected more structure than I was met with. I was placed within a team of about 10 people who didn't really know why I was there. Being thrown in at the deep end like this was a big challenge and while it may benefit some people it seemed to discourage myself and the other apprentices who were on the same placement as me. However, this lack of structure was short lived as we soon learned that if we hassled people for work, we would be given more to do. This was worrying for me at the time but when I moved on to further placements I was glad to learn that not all placements were like this. I understand that was with most things, you tend to get out what you put in. I do feel that there could have been better structure on our first placement in the workplace. This is likely due to the fact that unlike other disciplines, the Combat Systems apprenticeship is still in its infancy as it was only started a couple of years ago.

We receive good support from our employer should we need it. The early careers team are always keen to help you out. Generally any questions you have or anything you want to learn about with regards to your placement, there are people in your office who are more than happy to answer your questions or take time to explain things to you.

The staff at West College Scotland have been a great help in providing us with study materials and delivering lessons in preparation for our vendor exams. The actual course material itself is questionable with regards to its relevance for our job but I feel the staff at the college delivered it excellently.

I feel the courses we were taught in college (Computing, Cisco Networking, Microsoft) have been of little relevance to our current jobs in the workplace. I do feel that our time in the yard within placements where you are encouraged and challenged have been of massive benefit to me personally.

We had a team building event with all apprentices in our intake year from across the UK. We went to the Lake District for with the Outward Bound Trust for a week of team building activities. It was both a networking event to meet other apprentices and share our experiences and also an insight into our personal development and something to get us thinking about our strengths and weaknesses and how we can challenge ourselves more effectively in the workplace.

Yes

There are plenty of good opportunities that few other apprenticeships offer. I would say that it is not for everyone, but if you are keen, self driven, and self motivated to apply yourself and get involved then it is an apprenticeship that you could benefit from. I personally have had some really memorable experiences working here in the short time since I joined.

Don't hesitate to ask for help. At the beginning of a new apprenticeship, going into a busy office where everyone seems to be pushing towards deadlines and trying to get things done it can be easy to hold back and not want to get in the way. Although, in a large company it is also easy to be forgotten about and fall behind. Apprentices are here to learn and to me that seems just as important as meeting deadlines. So don't be afraid to ask for help or to push for more responsibility as ultimately, this is how you learn and grow in the workplace.