Apprentice Project management Review

I am in a project control placement in my first year, this consist of making sure parts that go through our area are worked on correctly and for the right amount of time. I'm also involved in various meetings with stakeholders to see what has changes within the spec which may affect the part and the hours taken for it to build it.

I have developed many skills throughout this apprenticeship, communication, time keeping, teamwork, leadership are a couple of skills that I have really solidified throughout the past 5 months. As an apprentice at BAE Systems you aren't treated as one. You are treated like any other employee.

The programme is excellent, the qualifications you also get out of the apprenticeship are second to none. The business is affiliated with Lancaster university which provide the degree, and in project management they are known worldwide. The programme is also very rewarding, with the monetary values, as well as workplace benefits.

The structure of the programme is tailored so you experience every area within the business, the placements are a year long so you can get into the work flow, the programme also have various contacts in place so if you ever feel like you aren't getting the most out of the programme they will look into it and possibly change your role.

The support we receive from our employer is great, we are always getting continuous feedback on what we need to improve and also what we have done well. The business are always supporting you with the degree as well making sure you are completing your assignments. We are always having reviews with managers making sure we are comfortable within our role aswell.

Our training provider provides us with much support when completing our assignments, we get detailed feedback from previous assignments and also one to ones with the university tutor making sure we understand the learning and the things that we are being taught on. Overall the support is very interested in making sure you succeed.

The qualifications tie very closely within the role that we are all playing, our first term we learnt about tools and techniques of project management which also made us understand how the business works within the different areas. The learning weaves in with our work so anything we get out of work we can use as an example within our assignments.

There are various extra curricular activities that we attend, for example our first year group of project managers are going to go outdoors in the summer, there are also various things you can get into like football, meditation and various other activities. There is plenty of activities to suit everyone.

Yes

BAE Systems is a brilliant company to work for, flexi working hours, very large salary, plus you get to meet some brilliant people around, there are also chances of working in Qatar, Australia, America and also RAF bases up and down the country. The work isn't too demanding, and the company wants you to have a good work/ lifestyle balance.

Be confident within your application, what makes you different compared to any other applicant. you don't have know excel but that also would give you a head start. Smile and make sure you are polite in your interview, come with que cards, people think that they are unprofessional but actually it shows that you have prepared for the interview. And finally having a little interest in fighter jets helps.