mechanical marine engineering apprentice Review

as i am in the last year of my apprenticeship now I am in my exit role which is being a part of the steam maintenance section within operations and maintenance. we maintain the pipework and the primary heating systems around the naval base and fix any leaks that occur.

before I started at bae systems, I used to do plumbing, kitchen and bathroom fitting so some of the basic skills I had before I started but in my 4 years at bae systems and especially my 2 years in operations and maintenance, I feel my skills have developed drastically.

I really enjoy my apprenticeship now in operations and maintenance because I have had a mixture of using my own skills to problem solve any jobs that we have and have mentors that I can bounce ideas off so we can decide what problems we have and how to fix them.

in the beginning, while we were in the training centre, the structure was a little bit all over the place, no one really knew what they were doing until we were doing it. the structure when I came to operations and maintenance the programme was well structured and well organised.

because before I started I had only really been self employed, I never received any support from my employers because I was sub contracting to them, so I have nothing really to compare it too, but now, I receive any support I need from my managers for what ever reason I need.

in the first yea when we were completing our preforming engineering operations qualification and our NVQ level 2, the support from the training provider was really good, then as we all progressed into out 2nd and 3rd year of the apprenticeship, our training provider became almost distant with us, but I think that was down too staffing issues.

because the first year of the apprenticeship was all down to either mechanical stuff, such as engines, or marine stuff on ships, I do not believe that my training provider have helped my preform better in my role, I owe that to the BAE mentors I have had in operations and maintenance.

I am a part of the BAE ambassadors team that attend working road shows and careers fairs and work to promote STEM business opportunities to young people, I really enjoy this and I believe I would of benefited from this when I was in school but I didn't ever go to one

Yes

I would be likely to recommend the bae systems apprenticeship to anyone, and I did for my younger brother who is in the year below my in the apprenticeship. I recommended it to him because I believe that bae systems in a good company to work for with excellent opportunities.

if you are applying for the apprenticeship, I would strongly recommend doing a week work experience program where you come in and work in the training centre for a week and gain the most basic of hand skills working with tools and equipment that you may have never worked with before.