Higher Apprentice Planning Review

My roles is within the project management function in the submarines sector of BAE systems. I spend 4 months in placements around the business that will tick off the core competencies of a project manager. On a day to day basis I get involved with whatever is going on in my placement from risk to quality etc.

I have learnt new skills, particularly the core skills of project management, specifically in terms of time, cost and quality, as well as project lifecycle, governance, risk, quality, planning, stakeholders, communication, scope, resources and business cases. I have been able to develop the skills I had from my previous career into this business.

I really enjoy being on the apprenticeship scheme at BAE. the exposure you get the all the different areas of the business is excellent. the placements are tailored to meet our development needs and the academic side of the course allows us to put our theory into practice back at work. I enjoy learning the theory so that I have the baseline knowledge to be productive and contribute in my placements.

the programme is well structured. again with the placements been organised to ensure we tick off all our competencies and get the best experience to what we enjoy doing. the early careers team structure our development by holding 12 week reviews, end of placement reviews and annual reviews help keep us on track. the academic qualifications really fit well with the scheme and the extra qualifications we do such as APM will be good for our future development.

there is lots of support in the business should we require it. the early careers team are our main point of contact and they keep in contact regularly to check on our progress as well as our feelings. then we have a discipline manager for our function we can go to for any Project Management support and each placement we have a placement manager who supports us in our placement. we also get plenty of support from our tutors at college

the college course is really well ran and links really well to our business. we receive lots of support from the tutors from Furness college and university of Cumbria. we are given a personal tutor that we have regular 121 meeting with and that we can talk to for any additional support. if this is referring to the people who run the end point assessment I have no idea who they are and therefore the support is no existent.

the qualification at college links really well to our apprenticeship. the modules that we study we get lots of exposure to them within the business. it helps us have more oif an input in our placements as we can link the theory we learn to real life practice in the business

we do something called stretch assignments which allows us to network with other apprentices. the early careers function also holds several social events throughout the year. it is optional to attend but the opportunity is there should you wish to take it. I have attended nights out, early careers conferences and football tournaments while on the scheme

Yes

BAE is a huge global company with fantastic career opportunities. the size of the business means there is so much variety in terms of job roles. the apprenticeship scheme is excellent to try several of these and to network with high level professionals to make the best choices for your future career

my advice would be to just go for it as you wont regret it. make sure you have researched the schemes and the business prior to applying so that you choose the role that best suits you. get involved with as much as you can and take every opportunity available to you.