Advanced Engineering Apprentice Review

On a day to day basis my role involves helping out with the workload of the department I am currently placed in. This generally entails office based work, usually either working with word documents or excel spread sheets. I am also required to complete at least one 'evidence log' per department I am placed in, and am usually granted time in my placement to do this.

I have most definitely developed my existing skills in the domain of Microsoft office, as I work with the programs contained within this regularly. I have also developed my social interaction skills during this job, as I am often required to consult people within my department or from other departments about a job.

I would say that overall I enjoy the experience of being an apprentice at BAE Systems, however sometimes the role does become monotonous due to the lack of variation in the nature of the jobs I complete and the environments I visit. In some departments I do get the feeling that apprentices are given the jobs that nobody else wants to do because they are long and repetitive, however I understand that sometimes I am not qualified to work on more 'interesting' jobs. I would also like to note that I may not enjoy my apprenticeship as much as other apprentices not because of the programme itself but more due to my personal dispositions.

I believe that the apprenticeship programme I am on is well structured and generally well organised. Generally, apprentices are only put into placements whereby there is enough work that they can complete to keep them busy and that they will benefit from, however this is not always the case, as there are only a limited number of departments which are willing to take on an apprentice.

I personally do not receive a large amount of support from my employer, however this is more due to me not wanting/needing said support. I am aware at all times however that my employer will support me in almost any regard, whether that be with my NVQ qualification, college work, work to complete for my current department or even personal or health issues.

I receive an adequate amount of support from my training provider, however sometimes this support is not as widely available as I would hope. I believe this may be more due to the management systems in place at my training provider more so than the tutors themselves, however it is fairly obvious at times that the tutor's motivation levels are not optimum; most probably due to said management shortfalls.

I believe that currently my qualifications do not benefit me at all in my job role, as all my external qualifications are STEM based, and currently my job role does not require me to complete anything which requires me to know something mathematical or scientific. I do understand however that this may (and hopefully will) change as I progress through my apprenticeship and transition into being a full time employee.

I receive, fairly regularly, information about, or invitations to, extra-curricular activities, including apprentice-only events and requests to support some of the STEM promotional events in which we participate as a company. Even though I may not be the most active participant in events such as these, I do believe that the amount and regularity of these events help to build a 'family' culture at the Brough site, and even between some apprentices at different sites.

No

I would not, purely because I do not believe that many, if any, of my friends are of a disposition whereby they would enjoy the role I do. However, I would recommend this apprenticeship to anyone who's disposition means that they prioritise routine, regularity, job security and money over other things when deciding which paths to take in life.

My main piece of advice to anyone applying for an apprenticeship at BAE Systems would be to do lots of background research on the company before getting through to an interview stage of an application. I feel that when selecting apprentices, BAE Systems don't focus too much on qualifications and look much more at the attitude of the person and how willing/able they are to implement themselves into the community here.