Advanced Engineering Apprentice Review

My apprenticeship is split into two parts; On Tuesdays I got to Humberside Engineering Training Association where I study towards a BTEC level 3, in areas such as materials engineering, mathematics, health & safety, and communications. For the rest of the week I am in the workplace contributing to the departments day to day activities. I am on a rotation and change department once every few months. My current department, Fleet Technical Services, focuses on the customer facing element of engineering. We direct queries to the relevant departments, give responses from these engineering functions to the customers, and keep track of all of the active, delayed, and suspended queries to ensure these are answered on time.

This apprenticeship takes you out of school, college, or where ever you were previously and drops you right in the middle of the workforce. This comes with many skill benefits. Communications skills and confidence are increased right off the bat as apprentice's are forced to seek the help and guidance of their colleagues, and often jobs will require inter-departmental cooperation, requiring apprentices to speak to other functions. On top of this apprentices will learn all the required skills to complete their work, including systems knowledge, time and workload management, and specific task based skills.

To an overall extent I have enjoyed the programme I am on. For the first year I was shipped over to Lancashire to train in a purpose built facility, and I loved every moment of this experience, learning new skills everyday and under constant challenge. After the first year I have come back to the company and I working within the departments. Being in the departments gives a feeling of responsibility, as though you are actually contributing to the company (which you are). At times however the workload may be slow, or the jobs long and arduous, these times lower the enjoyment of the scheme. The work always returns to an enjoyable norm however.

The apprenticeship scheme I am studying on is extremely well organised. Even in the face of a recent change to method of end point assessment, everything felt under control and well structured. I am given a rotation plan at the beginning of each educational year so I am aware of the departments I will be moving in to. In a meeting my departmental supervisor, apprentice liaison officer, and myself then set objectives for the department for what we wish to achieve. These objectives are then reviewed periodically and at the end of the placement in order to ensure I am working towards these, and in the process, growing in skill.

My employer provides an impressive amount of support for it's employees. It takes a great deal of pride in its occupational health, ensuring good health (including skin care, hearing, hand arm vibrations, mental health, eye health, and lung screenings). These are all checked at least annually, and a large quantity of resources are available for employees to access should they have any concerns or requirements.

At the beginning of a placement the department and I set placement objectives which we wish to achieve, and discuss the type of work I will be performing. From this I am able to determine what criteria I will be able to focus on achieving in the department. The company then ensures I have sufficient time and resources to complete work required for my qualifications, and offer constant support during the process.

My qualifications focus on all of the foundation and advanced knowledge and skills an engineer will require when working within an engineering role. It focuses on both the technical knowledge and competencies (such as mathematics, structures, materials, and H&S), as well as generalised skills which would be beneficial in any workplace (such as communications).

There are both departmental and workplace extra-curricular activities to get involved in. Departments often hold social activities for occasions such as birthdays. The workplace also endorses sporting activities such as football matches (including charity performances), cricket, etc. Given the engineering nature of the business, many of the companies employees are affiliated with societies (including the Royal Aeronautical Society), and events are often held onsite or nearby, including conferences and courses.

Yes

An apprenticeship with BAE Systems offers a fantastic alternative route to the classic university education. It offers a high level and standard of training (up to HNC and even degree) and gives skills which cannot be gained within a classroom or lecture theatre environment such as communications skills, systems knowledge, and working with real engineering materials and problems. On top of this the apprenticeship offers a competitive salary, instead of a debt, and various other incentives such as share schemes, union benefits, and pension accumulation.

The three core traits for any BAE Systems employee, as stated in their motto, are Innovative, Trusted, and Bold. When applying for an apprenticeship (or other position) within BAE, the company is looking for employees who will bring something new and competitive to the workplace. The company is not looking for completed engineers (not for the apprenticeship at least), but for aspiring engineers with a good set of foundation skills and a keen attitude to achieve, a group of people which they can train and shape into world class engineers. When applying be yourself, be keen, and come ready with an arsenal of examples for why they should employ you specifically. This needs be nothing major either. If you enjoy problem solving, like getting stuck in, and are willing to learn then BAE Systems could be the place for you.