Maintenance Technician Apprentice Review

Part of the apprenticeship involves completing placements within the factory, learning some of the different areas and roles within these areas. A typical day will generally include shadowing the qualified technician who you are on shift with. Through this you are able to pick up the role quite quickly and learn skills from the technicians that you need to complete typical daily tasks. Often you will work on projects which you are given within the placement, or other smaller tasks which you are set.

As a fourth year apprentice, I have completed the BTEC qualification and the NVQ. What I am learning this year at college as part of the foundation degree is both a development of what I have learned at college and in work before, whilst also learning new skills and information. At work I am constantly learning new skills between working on breakdowns that can occur on a daily basis or working with a variety of people on shutdown. I am learning new and valuable skills.

I thoroughly enjoy the programme. I think that the apprenticeship enables you to complete a number of qualifications including the BTEC, PEO, NVQ and foundation degree, as well as other industry-relevant courses. In addition to this, there is the chance to network within the plant due to working in a number of areas. Through this you can find the area and work that you enjoy most and create opportunities for yourself.

The structure of the programme is really good. The first year is entirely college based, working on the PEO and BTEC. Following this, you are at work for four days a week and the fifth is spent at college. During the four days, you are on a placement within the factory for approx. three months. Each placement has a pre- and post-placement meeting where the targets and progress for this placement are discussed. There is some flexibility with the placements as you can request to work in a certain area that you are interested in.

The support from the employer varies depending on the issue at hand. During the first year it was difficult to receive immediate support with some issues due to being at college rather than on-site . However, since working on-site it has been much better. Although, sometimes if the support is lacking you have to try and sort any issues yourself. The main area where support is required is with college where there can sometimes be misunderstandings and miscommunications.

The support received from college varies so much between lecturers. Some lecturers provide limited support, seeming quite reluctant to help. Whereas other lecturers will do all that they can to support you where you need. Support has also varied between qualifications as the support with the BTEC was different compared to the foundation degree.

Currently, I am completing a foundation degree and this often seems quite far away from the skills and knowledge I require in my role at work. The subjects we cover are heavily theory-based and a lot of the time it would seem more fitting to have work/assignments that combine theory and practical elements where the skills can be used in my role at work.

Extra-curricular activities are difficult due to the nature of this job. We all live in a radius of the plant, but not close to each other making it difficult to meet up. However, there are a number of activities organised at work such as sports matches/tournaments, the mountain challenge and charity/fund-raising activities that you can take part in.

Yes

I think that the apprenticeship programme provided at BMW is really good. You complete a number of qualifications and gain experience that are recognised both within BMW and by other companies in the industry. You have the opportunity to work with a number of people and find an area where you feel you work well and develop on this. If you work hard there are a number of further opportunities offered to you.

I would recommend working hard to make sure you get the grades required for the apprenticeship. If you have any hobbies or complete any qualifications/activities that would be recognised, such as Duke of Edinburgh, be sure to mention this. If you complete the application process successfully and attend an assessment centre I would recommend working on interview skills and being confident in yourself.