Aerospace Engineering Degree Apprentice Review

Working as part of a team in a busy engineering company, contributing to and leading projects. Every day in Airbus is different so there is no true day to day, but as an apprentice you will get some proper engineering jobs to complete whilst you study and as you move through the business on placements you'll be able to choose what types of roles you prefer, whether they be stress, fatigue, design or something more hands on, its a really varied experience.

You really develop your skills working here as you are thrust into a typical business environment you really grow as a person. Examples of the skills that I have developed since starting here are, time management, team work and presentation. Throughout various training courses you learn a lot about yourself and develop many skills

I really enjoy the programme as it is an ideal mix of theory and application, and getting to study for a degree whilst working is an incredible experience. You learn an awful lot and it is really rewarding when you succeed at work or succeed on an assignment and its doubly rewarding doing both simultaneously

The programme is well organised, it has been running for many years and the course leaders and HR are always keen to take our feedback on board as to how it could be improved further, Airbus are always striving to improve their early careers schemes and it really shows as they encourage us to speak up and give feedback whenever possible.

We receive a lot of support from our employers as at any given time we have 3 managers, our HR manager/line manager, our Target Area Owner and our placement manager, so there's always people to approach if there's any issues. They are especially understanding when it comes to juggling work and studies and if we need to take time from work to work on a university assignment they are very understanding and supportive

There is plenty of support from our training provider when it comes to working towards qualifications, they are aware that we have less time to work on assignments and many lecturers have offered extensions or extra sessions where they'll come in after hours or on weekends to answer questions and offer help

There are topics that we lean during our lectures that can then be loosely applied to work, however there can sometimes be a bit of a jump with difficulty levels, but learning alongside working allows you to apply some of these concepts and see where they would be useful in the business

Yes there are plenty of extracurricular activities at work to get involved with, from early careers (apprentice, intern and graduate) social events and talks, as well as work sports teams etc. Often times teams at work will host their own social events or networking events such as break2connect where you are assigned someone to take a coffee break with that you may not usually interact with.

Yes

They are a very supportive and encouraging company to work for with incredible employee benefits. They are really trying to change the face of engineering from the ground up by encouraging early careers schemes, such as the apprentice scheme and it shows. It is also incredible to work for a leading company in their field whilst studying and still feeling like you are making a difference. Airbus Apprentices are treated like full employees

Research the company, especially look into what they do, why they do it and the values of the company. Be enthusiastic and make sure you are able to back up your statements. Just apply, it is really worthwhile and an unmatchable experience, you'll meet incredible people and really stretch yourself.