Combat Systems Higher Apprentice Review

As part of the Apprenticeship programme I am obliged to do rolling r-month placements in various areas of the business. I am currently on my 5th and final placement until I finish the scheme in August. I am doing a combined role of organising an acceptance trial along with working on the RCB2 Gunnery System.

Through my placements I have learnt a range of new skills because every project is different. I have worked on three different projects and they all use different tool sets or processes. The learning experience changes from office based to hands on depending on the status of the project I am working on.

My apprenticeship has been very enjoyable. I have found all my placements to be of value and learned a lot. The only criticism is that the college course we completed is not related to the everyday job we do. An engineering course would have been more useful and I suggest that should happen for future.

Now that we are in the latter stages of the apprenticeship, the programme runs smoothly and is well established. Going back to the first year or two it was not as organised because we were the first apprentices to trial this programme. We understood there may be teething issues and the company has built the programme around our feedback.

We have an excellent support structure to help us with any problem we may be having. The company asks us for regular feedback and have shown to act upon our comments in the intention to improve the apprenticeship. We know that if we have a problem or suggestion we can report it directly and it will not be overlooked.

While we were at college we would get reviews every 12 weeks with our line manager and the college. At these meetings we would provide and receive feedback on how we are doing in college as well as any areas that we have a problem with. Our opinions were always valued.

At college we completed a HND in Computing and Networking , as well as Microsoft and Cisco vendor qualifications. Unfortunately through placements we have realised that these qualifications do not relate to our day to day role. The skills we have learned can be somewhat transferrable but the choice of course was wrong.

The opportunity to attend engineering dinners and award ceremonies is regularly made available to us. I myself have attended a few professional networking events and occasionally represent the apprenticeship at STEM events. Also there has recently been an Apprentice Social Committee Established which organises social activities to allow apprentices to interact outside of work.

Yes

BAE has invested a lot of time and money into their apprenticeship programmes and that shows with the care and support we receive. Also BAE as a company has long term contracts which supports job security and a lifelong career. In my role I am allowed access to information and equipment that most people are not, which is exciting and fulfilling to me.

I have discussed this with many potential applicants at careers events and I always stress the same point. Do not rush the online application form. Applicants have around 5/6 questions to fill in, with an entire week to complete it therefore It is important to take your time and provide the best answer you can come up with.