Engineering Apprentice Review

My role as an engineering Apprentice at Gatwick Airport is shadowing experienced technicians and assisting them in their day to day duties. Depending on the day we would be doing different jobs and so a variety of things. The day to day is dependent on what section we are on at the time. At the moment I am on electronics from 7am to 3pm so the majority of the work I do is going out to faults with the engineers which include x-ray machines, ion scanners, door interface units and a variety of different assets. Usually we would get a call saying there is a fault and we go to it and the technician i'm with will explain to me on the way what is is and what we are going to do to fix it if it is a common fault. As an apprentice I will assist them in the job such as unscrewing panels and unplugging things which is great for practically learning and getting hands on experience.

I have learnt and developed so many skills since starting the apprenticeship such as fault finding in a system by splitting it up and substituting different parts to fix it in a time efficient manner. Including learning many practical skills I have also learnt and developed lots of theory while being at college in my first year. For example the first year was 5 days a week of college doing our Level 2 and Level 3 subjects which taught me a large variety of different things that I have now been able to see and understand in the working environment since being based on sections at the airport.

I enjoy this programme so much more than I thought I would and more than I can put into words. Its given me so many amazing opportunities to learn and grow not only in learning but in my personality by interacting with so many different people. The work that I do is interesting and makes me genuinely excited when there are jobs to do. Everyone is very friendly and makes you feel welcome wherever you go in the company which makes it feel like a family.

It is very well organised as in the first year you go to college 5 days a week and get lots of theory in so that you have a good understanding of how things work. You then go into work during the school holidays so you still get a bit of practical learning and can apply what you learnt at college which is well planned. In the next three years the apprenticeship is day release meaning you go to college 1 day a week. I have a mentor at work who I can go to if I have any problems with college and they will help me out using their experience. Doing college one day a week means that I do some of my college work at work when there are quiet times and there are no jobs going on meaning there is less work to do at home.

I receive a lot of support from my manager who is always able to answer my questions and goes above and beyond to help when he can. If I have any questions he makes it easy to ask them and helps with getting any problems I have sorted which is incredible valuable and means you can focus more on learning. The HR team are very friendly and are happy to help. My mentor contacts me regularly to see how I am getting on which reassures me that help it only a message away. The overall attitude to support towards me is very good as everyone wants you to succeed as they are all passionate about the apprenticeship.

At East Surrey College the facilities are state of the art with some great equipment and teachers. The teachers support you really well with small class sizes so you can get more attention and help when stuck on anything which is important when you are learning. Some of our subjects are tailored to our jobs specifically such as the equipment we use at Gatwick giving us a better understanding.

What I've learnt and am learning at college is extremely relevant to my day-to-day role due to the variety of engineering I do for example this year im doing three phase power which is used a lot at Gatwick and helps lots with my understanding. Learning the theory of three phase systems at college has allowed me to understand better what the engineers are saying when explaining systems to me. This has given me a better understanding of how systems at the airport work and given me more confidence in the work I do due to me having a better understanding.

Every year we do Outward bound in the summer which is where all the apprentices go off for the week to places like the Lake District and Wales and do team building activities such as hiking, abseiling, rock climbing etc. At Outward bound you get to know the other apprentices really well and is really good fun and since we are all in the same bout everyone understands your situation. As apprentices we do lots of volunteering at STEM and careers events promoting engineering and the apprenticeship which is good fun.

Yes

Because I don't believe there are many working environments that are as interesting and nice to be in due to the airport being more of a family and a pleasure to work in every day. Each day is different to the last and having problems you have to fix makes it more interesting than any other jobs. I feel extremely proud to be an engineering apprentice at Gatwick Airport.

My biggest advice would be to do engineering in your own time to show your passion and make yourself stand out. Do projects that challenge yourself and document it showing any problems you had and how you overcame that as that shows your determination which is what we look for at Gatwick airport. Be friendly to everyone and listen and ask questions as it shows your interest and drive.