Bespoke Apprentice Review

My role is to support the department with production duties that the workshop carries out. Ialso have a responsibility to learn all the skills neccescary to become an effective and useful member of the team. as well as these responsibilities, I have to attend college to obtain the required qualifications requires to pass the apprenticeship.

Yes, I have developed my bench fitting skills and am able to fabricate a number of fairly complex objects that I often use in the workshop. I have also developed my machine skills and I am now competant at using a lathe to create tapers, threads (internal and external), bores, precise fitted parts, knurls, and many more. I am also able to use a mill to make a number of complex objects.

I thoroughly enjoy the work and the subject matter of the course, however this is somewhat marred by a slight lack of organisation and communication by Chichester College regarding the contents and structure of the course. There is also a slight lack of communication between RR and college, and we as apprentices are often the go between for information between them. However, I get on well with the other apprentices and generally enjoy the work.

As mentioned above, there is a general consensus that the organisation could be improved, a number of the apprentices still have yet to properly be introduced to their managers and have not done any placements. There is also a lack of organisation at Chichester College with some lecturers seeming unclear on the course content.

Support from the employer is generally very good, our HR contact is normally very responsive whenever we have queries. My manager in my department has been very on the ball with organising my placements in different departments around the plant, the employer is also very good with regards to rpoviding us with all the correct equipment and PPE.

We attended Chichester College full time for the first year of the apprenticeship, in which I learned a number of key skills, unfortunately we later found out that this was a foundation year and counted towards nothing. We are currently working through the real work, however it feels like the pace of work is rather slow.

I feel like all the bench fitting work we do at college is very relevant to the work I do at the moment in my department, the hydraulics and electronics work we do at college is not as relevant at the moment, however it may become more relevant as the apprenticeship develops in years to come.

I am currently helping out with a project at the local primary school where we are helping to design and build a small 24V electric go-kart for them to race at the Goodwood racecourse, I also participate in social events with my fellow apprentices such as curry nights out in Chichester.

Yes

The BMW group is a large, multinational company that has the ability to provide a well rounded employment experience with huge oppurtunities in many different plants all around the world. Furthermore, the products that BMW make are also of an extremely high quality and it is an excellent oppurtunity to be able to work on them.

For anyone interested in applying to the BMW group, I would reccomend that they brush up on the history of the brand, and also the product lineup and history so that they understand the ethos and brand image. Also act as you would in any other interview situation; with professionality, modesty and decorum.