Toolmaker Apprentice Review

An overview of my role and the activities I carry out on a day to day basis includes a full time, 5 day a week course at College where I’m learning all the theory subjects and skills needed for my job role. It involves attending lessons/lectures where I carry out practical and writing tasks for all the engineering units. After completing my apprenticeship I will be a qualified toolmaker allowing me to use the skills learned to be able to repair and fabricate components to meet company requirements.

I have learned new skills and developed pre-existing skills. The skills that I have developed relate to myself and are such as public speaking, confidence when meeting people/ being around new people and also working in teams and with others. The skills that I have learned relate to the work being carried out in the first year. The skills are such as Machining (Using both the Lathe and the Milling Machine), Electrical Skills, Welding, Mechanical principles, etc...

I enjoy my engineering apprenticeship to a high extent, I enjoy all the practical work that we do and the freedom to machine and create components, electrical wiring systems and circuits. I also enjoy all the theory that is learnt as I find it interesting. The programme is extremely hard work and a lot of work is required to be completed for both the Level 2 qualification (17 Units) and also the Level 3 qualification (6 Units)

The portfolios that we create over the duration of the first year allow for the work completed and signed off to be well organised and structured as it can be placed behind a sub-heading relating to the unit making it easy to locate. The EAL job packs that show all the criteria that is required to be covered allows for reports that we create to be structured in effective and useful ways for referencing. However the college side of things has room for improvement when looking at how organised and structured it is. This is due to multiple time table changes and often changing of lectures which can cause a little confusion.

There is constant support offered from the employer, the support is supplied in ways such as if you’re struggling on a Unit or a under pinning knowledge question you can ask the company and they will supply you ways on how you can answer it. Support is also supplied through regular meetings with our manager, which if we have any concerns we can inform our manager who will help sort the issue. If we are in plant carrying out job roles where we don’t feel comfortable or safe then we can inform the employer to receive further training until we feel competent

There is also a lot of support offered by the training provider, the support that is provided can be during lessons or after lessons. During practical lessons if I am stuck with work I can ask about a process and get clarification, for reports or assignments that I complete in my own time I can ask about a task and get given guidance allowing for me to answer it correctly when working towards my qualifications

I feel that the work we are doing and the units that we are covering with my training provider will help me perform better in my job role when working in plant. The information that we learn can be used for many situations inside plant such as the machinery used, disassembling mechanical fixtures and processes. Having this understanding before coming into my job role allows me to be able to face challenges and problems that occur in plant.

There are many extracurricular activities that can be offered and allow for us to get involved with. These activities are such as when first beginning the apprenticeship, you and your new group of apprentices go away to Devon for a week to skern lodge, here many team and group building activities are carried out to make you more familiar with the people around you such as: caving, obstacle course, rock climbing and archery. Other extracurricular activities that you can do are such as the mountain challenge which is a weekend away to carry out an orienteering task against other teams. Gardening and charity cake bake events take place at plant and allow for you to get involved with too.

Yes

I would recommend BMW Group and the apprentice program to a friend because it is a great opportunity to get into an engineering background and also to end the apprenticeship with a high qualification such as the chance to work towards a degree. The apprenticeship is also a good way to potentially secure a lifelong job after completion depending on how hard you work and how you behave. I would also recommend it as coming from secondary school it allows you to mature rapidly and work around adults to solve problems and carry out tasks.

There are many tips and pieces of advice I would give to other people who apply for BMW Group, firstly to be patient with the process as due to it being such a good apprenticeships it’s well-known and heavily applied for. Therefore be patient and regularly check your email to see if there’s any progress. If you’re unfortunate to be selected then apply again in the next year for another chance. If you are looking to apply to BMW group in the future and are still currently studying at secondary and about to pick your options then I suggest choosing options that are used in engineering such as triple science, ICT, Product design or Design technology. This will help with the knowledge you have for future steps When applying there are many steps done during the applying process these are such as: an online CV that is sent off and reviewed, after that stage there is then online tests that are needed to be done. Advice I would give for this would be to do practice papers as it will help. On completion of the tests if selected you will then attend an assessment day where a variety of tasks are completed such as, team activities, interview, more online tests and a practical task. The final stage after the assessment day is a 2nd interview where you have to present information about a certain topic, I advise you spend a lot of time on the presentation and have practices presenting it at home to help with the flow of it.