Business Apprentice Review

I am a business apprentice working at BAE Systems. I am currently in my first placement which is in Materials Engineering. My role is within the business management team and consists of numerous jobs such as managing diversions, ordering products and completing small ad-hoc tasks. I think this is a good first placement as it has broke me into the business gently, as I have come straight from school and I have learnt a range of skills which I hope to carry onto my next placements and beyond.

I have learnt and developed lots of skills in this placement. Firstly, I have a great understanding of how to order products via a system called Coupa. I also know the different steps used when ordering on a CPC card or on a PO. I now know how to operate Open Options and book and amend hours for people. Throughout the few months of being in the business, I have learnt and developed many skills in excel such as VLOOKUPS and formulas.

I am really enjoying my programme as it is a completely new experience for me and I feel that it is extremely beneficial. I have now adjusted to the working life at the age of just 16. At BAE, there are many opportunities to help out at events and go travelling which I would be interested in doing in the future.

The apprenticeship programme is very well structured as the placements are set out accordingly . Each placement is 20 weeks long and we get a range of experiences throughout our time in the business as an apprentice. Being split into different functions is also beneficial as you can her about placements elsewhere that could interest you.

There are lots of people throughout the business whether it be your line manager, early careers officer or assessors. I would feel at ease speaking to an of these people if an issue was to arise. If you need support, there are numerous links on the intranet that can help you also.

We have off the job training sessions in which information is provided to us that will help us achieve our qualification at the end of our apprenticeship. The apprenticeship content provider City and Guilds states that an end point assessment must be taken at the end of our apprenticeship and this means that the business supports us so we have the best chance of passing this.

The qualification is through city and guilds and they set assignments that we must complete as part of our evidence for our end point assessment. The assignments are based on relevant things in the business for examples policies and legislation. Aspects like this are important in order to work to a high standard.

At BAE, there are many external events ran at different places that you can get involved in. Also, you can volunteer to help out at open events and welcome people there. I believe that there are some sporting clubs in the business such as a ski club at warton which may interest some people.

Yes

BAE Systems has already provided me with lots of vital life skills that I can take with me through my career. Not only are you on a good salary even as an apprentice, you get the chance to meet lots of new people and experience a very interesting environment to a normal place.

I would say to not rush the initial application form. Don't do it all in one night, take your time and get other people to read through it to check everything is perfect before submission. Also, you should not panic during the online tests if you get to this stage.