Engineering Technician Apprentice Review

Daily basis will differ between the placements we could be put into. This means that I could be working directly with the car analysing and testing them or could be sat at a desk, working with IT software creating and improving on systems currently in place. This means that I have interaction with many different people across multiple different plants and have a high level of responsibility to make sure that things are done correctly. This ties in with the fact that in the placement we are given a project to complete whilst we are in there that generally we are solely responsible to complete and manage.

During the time in the apprenticeship I have learnt lots of new skills and developed existing ones. The apprenticeship at BMW means that we do several different qualifications that allow us to progress ourselves and our learning throughout the 4 years here. This ranges from a Lvl 3 Btec to a Lvl 6 Degree. Whilst doing the apprenticeship there is also the ability to join internal training courses to develop other skills if required.

I very much enjoy the programme at BMW. It has massively improved me as a person and I have gotten a lot out of it. One of the reasons is the fact that we are open to most of the benefits that a normal employee would get (inc. Car scheme). I also find that the day to day work is enjoyable and is interesting.

The programme is laid out well in terms of knowing what is expected of us in each of the years, e.g. Year 1 being Btec and workshop skills, with year 4 being final placements and top up year for the Degree. There is also fortnightly meetings to catch up with managers to clarify things if needed or to convey potential issues if there are any.

We receive a lot of support whilst in the apprenticeship, this ranges from within the placement as the placement manager is always willing to help out with understanding or with the work given as well as from our direct apprentice managers with them only being either a short walk or an email away from helping out with anything that is relevant.

We are given a lot of support when doing our qualifications. This can range from organising more help if required but also having all of the tutors qualified enough to be able to answer most questions confidently in an understandable way. The training school also speak to the collages to make sure that we are on track and to support if needed.

What we learn in our qualifications is useful for our work as it means that we can more easily visualise problems and the best ways of fixing them as well as learning skills on industry standard programmes that are used throughout the company that makes is extremely useful to colleagues. What is learnt in the qualifications is also very easily transferable between roles and companies.

There are some extra-curricular activities to be getting on with after work. However these are more limited than they could be and therefore could be improved. One of the activities that are available is to get involved in Cowley carnival car or to help out and support with careers events.

Yes

I would recommend BMW to a friend as it has massively improved me as a person and the skills that I have developed and gained. I also have loved all of the benefits like a good pay, a good working team around me as well as a brilliant Car scheme for young people.

I would advise them to make sure that they make the most of the opportunity and to make sure that you are ready for a lot of hard work as with this apprenticeship whatever you put into it is whatever you will get out of it so the more you try and commit to it the better it will be.