Chartered Management Degree Apprentice Review

My role can vary depending on what placement I am in at the time. My role currently involves creating reports and displaying these as dashboards to allow them to be easily understood. I also have to engage with key stakeholders around the business, including some senior stakeholders. I also get involved in stretch assignments which allow me to expand my skills in areas that wouldn't normally be required in my placement, such as project management. These stretch assignments also allow me to gather more evidence towards my end point assessment at the end of my apprenticeship.

Learnt new skills that are vital in the workplace such as time-management, stakeholder management, prioritising certain tasks over others. These are all key skills that wouldn't necessarily be learnt on a normal degree programme. The apprenticeship also allows you to put the theory that is learnt at university into practice during your different placements.

I really enjoy my programme and feel like it was the best option for me following completion of my A-levels. Having the opportunity to study a degree alongside working in a company like BAE Systems is providing me with so much knowledge and work experience to give me the best start to my career.

The scheme is fairly new (currently only 3 cohorts) so it is not as well structured as the other schemes that have been running for longer within the business. New placement opportunities are always arising which can lead to the programme being less structured. Also, no one has completed the scheme yet so there is a bit of uncertainty about what positions we will be in once we finish the apprenticeship but this should become clearly in a couple of years when the first cohort complete the scheme.

BAE Systems are an extremely supportive company who want you to be able to get what you want out of the apprenticeship. If you have a particular interest in a certain area, then the company will push you to complete stretch activities in this area so you can gain exposure to this field and potentially find where you want to be when you finish the apprenticeship.

We have a number of different lectures throughout the degree for different modules and some are more supportive than others. As some read through drafts of any assignments whereas others won't. This can be frustrating but as you progress through the scheme, you tend to need less assistance anyway. The training provider also has to visit you 3 times per year at work so during this time they are happy to offer any help where necessary.

I think that some of the modules are more helpful than others but this can depend on the placement that you are in at the time. For example, the finance module will help if you are in a finance placement but perhaps not as much if you were in a different placement. The degree does help you gain a wider knowledge of the business as a whole though as you have to do research to assist with assignments which broadens your knowledge on the company.

There are a number of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) such as a women's network, LGBTQ+ community, disability network. Anyone can join these networks and they host regular forums and other events. There are also some other social activities but this depends on your placement and how much you want to get involved in outside of the day-to-day job.

Yes

BAE Systems is such a large organisation that there is something that will interest everyone. Also, as it is such a large company, there's a huge number of opportunities that are available, particularly to apprentices. They are a very supportive business and want you to pursue your interests to get what you want out of your career.

Make sure it is what you really want to do before applying as you wouldn't want to start and then realise it isn't really for you. Be yourself throughout the application process and answer everything as truthfully as you can. If you do get through to the assessment centre then try not to compare yourself to the others in the room as that can make you even more nervous than you already will be. Trust that you deserve to be there.