Apprentice Aircraft Engineer Review

As I am in the first year of my apprenticeship, I am currently with the training provider LRTT doing my CAT A licence modules. It is based in Gloucestershire where BA have provided amazing accommodation for us apprentices on a beautiful site. It is quite an intense course with a lot to fit in and go through in the space of 10 months however, LRTT are doing an amazing job on getting us prepared for exams with great teaching. Furthermore, they’re also getting us ready with the hands on side of things in the workshop for when we go back to the hanger environment at Heathrow for the second/third year as this is an important thing is an engineer.

I’ve developed many new skills during the apprenticeship and have seen myself grown from a where I was when I left school to now. One of the key skills I developed was my confidence. I was quite worried about moving away from home for the first time however, I have adapted greatly and have now become very confident with it

I am really enjoying the programme because it develops me as a person overall as well as an engineer. This is one of the massive perks which comes with the BA apprenticeship that doesn’t come along with other school leaver programmes. It is a very competitive programme to get into with many people wanting to do it, which is why I was really happy when I got in and have enjoyed every single bit of it since starting. I really enjoyed the hanger environment back when we were at Heathrow for the first month of the programme as it gave me exposure to live aircraft maintenance and I got to see what industry I was getting myself into for the future.

The programme is very well organised as it helps develops us fully for the future when we become licensed aircraft engineers. This is by getting all the modules done in the first year and for the next two years, giving us shift patterns in the actual aircraft hanger at Heathrow.

We receive a great amount of support from our employer as they regularly visit us up here to see how we are getting on and are always on it when we have any concerns with anything. They encourage us a lot to help us reach our potential which is great and not something you see at other places of development.

Our training provider is very experienced and knows what type of aid we need when working towards our qualifications. They have many different areas of management which all help us in our own ways and they’re all professionals in what they do. They give us the right resources to help us get through

Our qualification will definitely help us better in our role as it will give us good knowledge about the aircraft and also in and around the hanger such as health and safety. This will help us understand what we are working with in order to complete task much more easily.

Right now I am not undertaking any extra curricular activities as we are away from Heathrow and with our training provider. However, as far as I’m aware there are many extra curricular activities at BA that take place and that we can undertake. One thing that some of the us apprentices were involved at the start of the apprenticeship was called ‘dream flight’. Which was a charity event organised by British Airways in order to help disabled people get onto to the plane which we felt privileged to help and be apart of. In the second year I am hoping to be apart of the number of clubs take take place such as the football team BA have which compete in Sunday League.

Yes

It is a great place to kick start your career in the aviation industry and the earlier you join the company, the quicker you’ll reach your potential. BA is not just a company, it’s a family. It is a airline known worldwide winning many awards so why wouldn’t you want to be apart of such as homely company .

When applying for the programme, take your time in your application and think about all the little details which could make you stand out compared to the other thousands of people that are applying for the same role. When attending the interview, be prepared for each question that comes and now how to tackle it with confidence. Always present yourself right with the correct attitude and a smile on your face. It’s the little details that count and they look at every little bit.