AVA Structures apprentice Review

I work in the AVA department at Gaydon where we develop smart CAD models that can be used in the commodity teams in the business. I specifically do models for the structures department. I also mentor for some of the lower year apprentices that have come into my area recently.

Yes I have developed several skills whilst with Jaguar Land Rover. I have spent a significant amount of time using C Aided Design software and the many tool benches inside that package. I have also looked at developing my scripting skills through the use of VBA, Ekl and VB codes.

I enjoy the time in work as my projects are challenging and involve me doing some complex problem solving and developing new skills. The time in university and college is slightly more boring and often involves lots of death by powerpoint. Overall I would say it is an enjoyable course.

The induction week was well organised but perhaps a little patronizing and too much back to school especially for older apprentices. There are lots of reviews that we have to undertake to check we are on track which again happen perhaps too often as they dont often result in anything for the vast majority of apprentices.

The managers within work are generally very supportive as they allocate Friday afternoons to college / University work to help us have time to complete our assignments. Most other members of staff around the business are often helpful with explaining new concepts or areas of engineering we don't yet have experience in.

The University is fairly good and puts on extra revision sessions on some Friday afternoons when there is an upcoming examination. There are work based managers who can help with organizing of any further support. The lecturers are also very or approachable and are good at offering extra help when it is needed.

Generally I don't feel as though I have used many of the skills I have learnt from my training provider as they aren't 100% relevant to the job role and provide a more generally engineering background as opposed to the specific knowledge. However this might change as I get later into the University segment of the apprenticeship.

There are a few activities that are run through work however I don't take part in these as the apprentices have organised our own activities. The company completes CSR events yearly which are a good team building event that the whole department takes part in. Jaguar Land Rover also give all employees an allowance that we can use to learn a new skill or craft every year.

Yes

I would recommend Jaguar Land Rover to others as they offer the change to gain multiple skills (Including soft skills such as presenting and networking) whilst completing a degree and several NVQ's whilst gaining valuable work experience in the business with the real life situations that we have to tackle.

I would say make sure you work on developing a CV that can get the attention of the application staff. Work hard at school to ensure you get the grades you require and if you make it to the assessment day just use your common seance and try to be a useful team member in any group activity that you do.