Engineering Apprentice Review

My role as an apprentice at Gatwick is to learn and gain the necessary skills that will allow me to be a fully qualified engineer, capable of keeping the airport running 24/7. Every 3-4 months I move around the various different departments we have, which provide a huge spectrum of different types of engineering. Day to day, my role consists of shadowing the technicians while on their shift and getting involved in the work they do. This provides me with a hands on learning experience which I personally find the best way to learn. Working at the airport provides an incredible diversity to the types of engineering I get to be involved with, ranging from complicated circuity in the electronics department through to heavy duty mechanical work in shuttles.

Working at Gatwick we have to be trained as "Multiskilled" in order to look after the range of equipment and systems. Therefore my skills in both electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering have vastly improved. This is down to working onsite with the systems and also applying the knowledge gained through the college courses. My mathematical skills have also been developed through the years as it is a key underpinning to all engineering.

I really enjoy my job, the diversity and variety I get to experience means that everyday I know I'm going to be learning something new. This just means I'm never bored and can look forward to each day. Combine that the type of work I'm getting involved with this really is my ideal programme, especially with the investment that Gatwick are willing to put into my development.

During my time I have seen the apprenticeship really start to grow in terms of size and also depth. The development that they offer is second to none in my opinion, I don't know anywhere that can get you around so many different forms of engineering in such a short space of time. The organisation is really key to this and the format they use to move people around works really well. The support network we have is also great and you know can always talk to someone either in your current department or just too the apprentice manager.

I have had loads of support through out the years and never had any issues. Ranging from personal support for things I've had going on at home through to struggling at college, the support network has always been really good. They also provide a mentoring system with people who have a great insight to the work we do so you can always ask them for advice/support.

Now I'm in my third year of the apprenticeship I am starting my third year with East Surrey College. They have been really good with providing support if we need help with any areas we might be struggling with. The facilities are modern and the engineering department has some good lecturers.

I think it helps massively, as working in a place like Gatwick where everything requires a wide range of skills to work on the systems and equipment. You need that underpinning knowledge which the qualification provides. I have defiantly applied a lot of what I have gained through the course in my day to day role.

Each year we are sent away on an amazing outward bound course away from Gatwick. This year just gone we were up in the lake district, hiking; sailing; rock-climbing and doing lots of team building activities. I think its a really great programme that we get to do and cant rate it highly enough.

Yes

The level of investment that gets put into our apprenticeship is amazing, you really feel like they want you to be the best you can be. And they provide the skills and training to get you there. Its a diverse and fun place to work, and as someone who loves engineering it really has a lot to offer.

Make sure you have a keen eye for engineering, and show willingness to learn lots of new skills. Read up about the different departments we have here and learn as much as you can so you have a good idea about the types of jobs we do here. Most importantly be yourself and show that you could be a good member of the team.