Operations Apprentice Review

On a day to day basis I spend my time working with a skilled operator on the shop floor. My work consists of a variety of different sections such as test, assembly, inspection and calibration and maintenance. I spend 3 months at a time on a certain section of the business and then rotate onto new placements allowing me to gain valuable information along the way.

Overall throughout my apprenticeship I have learned a number of different skills, specifically hands on skills on how a skilled operator interacts with jobs. I have also benefitted from various courses offered and have been able to develop further skills such as team working sand communication. Working at mbda has given me vital experience on how to work in a production business.

Overall,my programme is enjoyable to a small extent. When on the right placement, work can be fast paced and really interesting. However on the flip side to this, many placements on the shop floor are very slow paced and no work is available. Often when work is available it could be very mundane and repetitive which does hamper my enjoyment of my programme.

The levels of organisation and structure to the programme vary massively. In the company itself, placements are organised well in advance and all apprentices know what section they will be working on at what time. However some things are not well organised. Final placements are often slow to receive and the management organisation between sites is not good at all.

My employer offers a lot of support to current apprentices both in relation to work and college. When problems arise at college, mbda offers time to apprentices to complete college work both in work time and also gives the opportunity to attend college more than once if available. If any problems arise in work such as placements etc, mbda will quickly offer resolutions to this.

As explained in the question above, mbda offers quite a lot of help to apprentices who are having negative experience in terms of college or nvq work. The training provider being Wigan and Leigh college are opposite to this. the support sand tutoring offered is very sub standard and often apprentices are left way behind in college due to the colleges effort and quality of tutors.

Many things taught by my training provider are not related to my day to day job at all. Things such as plcs and design will never be used on my day to day role. As well as this, many things taught in different subjects such as maths and science are brushed over quickly so they are forgotten when work comes around.

Mbda does offer many outside of work activities and clubs to get involved in. A charity challenge group is available to join if any apprentice is interested in organising out of work charity events. Sports activities such as football are available and many career events are available to attend if any apprentices volunteer.

Yes

I would recommend mbda to a friend de to the community and atmosphere surrounding the company. Overall it is a very good place to work which offers many benefits to current employees. If the right job is found, mbda can be very challenging and exciting work however with the wrong job, the company could get quite boring and repetitive.

Research fully about the company and learn about an projects they are currently working on. Be enthusiastic in both your online application and your interview and assessment day. Finally research fully and think about the job you would like to do. If the answer is test/inspection or assembly jobs, mbda could be a good company for you.