Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice Review

Day-to-day work that I carry out involves changing filters (from hydraulics, oil and cabin air filters) to changing engines on certain aircraft. You have to find out who is responsible for each zone of the aircraft and find out where you are working, some times cabin and sometimes engines or landing gear.

Since joining BA, I have learned a lot of skills and developed even more. Some skills include team building (we went camping for a week and lived together) to my hand skills improving drastically every day at work. I also improved my organizational skills as you need to make sure you have everything before starting a job.

Working at British Airways has been a pleasure. You get to meet lots of different people who have a lot of experience and always a good laugh. The culture in the hangar is really good as the old guys love to help out the new people so it all works out.

There is a lot of support in place in the apprenticeship program. If you need help with any module, British Airways will try their best to accommodate you in by giving you, classes. We also have a mentor when on shift working so if we have any concerns about anything, we can always go to someone.

I receive a lot of support from my managers and mentors. If I am unsure of anything, there is always a person I can rely on to help me get past the problem or know someone to go to to find a response. I have not really recieved a lot of support from HR as that is not needed in my job.

I receive a lot of support from British Airways to help me complete my qualifications. There are classes laid out for us, with industry experts who can help us with any problems we have. The general attitude to help us is that they are always there with anything and everything.

I think that the qualifications we get in our apprenticeship are really good. We get so many different qualifications and all the qualifications help us understand our role at the company and give us a better insight into what we need to do. The exams in the first year are really tough by worth it.

I try to get involved in extra-curricular activities at work, for example, there is a lot of career fairs and tours of the workplace that need to get done. There are also a few events for networking so you can meet different people in the business and see how they are doing.

Yes

The support they give you when you are unsure of what you are doing is impeccable. The work that you do as an apprentice is amazing, you are not always shadowing someone else. The organization of the course is really well and the first year living out in the Cotswolds is good.

Make sure you are yourself. Do not try to become the perfect candidate as they assessors can see right through you. Dress to impress as first impressions last. The assessment day consists of a group exercise, three mini-interviews, and a presentation. Make sure you smile on the day otherwise they will think you are grumpy.