Leathershop Apprentice Review

I am a Leathershop Apprentice at Rolls royce, every month I get to have training in every department to learn a jobstick that they do each day. I meet all different types of people, as i could have a different trainer at any point. There is also two different shifts so we get to know each process supporter and process leader. They will show us around their department and get in to depth about what they do each day. We also have to maintain a logbook every month to write up each department and what we learnt, this will include a series of pictures indicating the proof of your work.

I have learnt many new skills since being an apprentice at Rolls Royce. I attend college every Tuesday and Wednesday in which i do upholstery in. Both work and college have provided me with a variety of skills. I get to learn new skills every month when i am attending work, but I also learn personal skills as well, I get to know a lot of people which improves my confidence a lot. I previously had sewing skills, so learning this in work and in college has really strengthened it. I am learning more skills everyday, there isn't a day that goes by where I learn something new.

I really enjoy this programme, I have made a lot of friends both at work and at college. Everyone is so nice and are more the happy to help you with your journey. Everyday can be different you don't know what could happen or who you're going to meet. But with every job there is always negatives, everyone in that work place does have a job to do in which you do feel that you don't want to intrude or get in the way. But you always have to remind yourself that you are here to learn and you have to be selfish to get the best benefit you can out of the programme. It meets my expectations very well, and I am enjoying it. The friends that I have make me push myself and we always have each other to rely on if we're having a bad day or we need help with something.

The programme is very well structured, we had a week induction where we got to meet a lot of people which meant that as soon as we start it we knew familiar faces. We are provided with a 3 year plan, which does get moved around sometimes as no one can predict the future that well. We get a lot of support when at work and college. Anyone that you go to is always happy to help and if you have any concerns they will happily sort them out. When studying we aren't considered to do this in work as we should keep college and work separate, this does make it difficult if we are running behind or we need to get something done, but you just need to be mindful of your timing so that you don't get into that situation. We have monthly meeting with all of our managers to see where we are at with college and whether we have any problems at work, this really helps us express how we are feeling with anything and if we need to highlight anything. When there are projects to do it really is whoever is there and most available at that time, there is no structured lay out. You just have to be lucky if its a department that you want to go that you get it first.

We receive a lot of support from everyone. We are all very close with our managers, in which if we have anything to speak about they are there with open ears. The HR team are always available if we have any enquiries, however we don't see them on a regular basis so we cant get to know them properly. If we do have a problem then we do get a lot of guidance as to how we can go about it, especially if it is with college, work are there straight away to sort it out as it is our education and they the best for us.

We get a lot of support when we are doing the work, but when we hand it in we don't know how we've done until a very long time. This would be a negative as we don't know if were doing it right or wrong, we only have her say to go off by. We are always greeted with a positive attitude by our teacher and she is always there to help us with anything that we need. I really like attending college for any reasons, but one of them being we don't have to wake up so early.

I think that if you didn't have any sewing skills before coming to Rolls Royce then i think it would have defiantly helped you. However, if you already had those skills college doesn't play a huge part when you relate it back to work. The problem with that is that we don't have a close enough college that deals with a leather qualification, so upholstery is the closest one to attend. However, i think that the more our college course goes on, we will see more theory base work that will help us perform better in our role.

We have family day that runs near the start of the apprenticeship, this allows us to make all sorts of accessories to be able to sell. The whole team works together to come up with the ideas and make them. Other then that I wish there were more activities that i could get involved in so that it boosts my fitness and confidence with other people.

Yes

Because you're getting paid whilst getting a qualification. You are able to get the best of both worlds of seeing what its like on a day to day basis in Rolls Royce and getting a qualification in a trade that you've always wanted to do. You are able to network throughout the company and gain many experiences. You get to try new things everyday and its up to you where you like to end up if you put the work in.

To be yourself when applying for the job, don't think of what they want to hear, show off your aspirations and designs, then they can truly see what you intend to do with this apprenticeship. I think that you've got to keep calm when being interviewed don't overthink the question and if you don't understand just ask them to repeat it, at the end of the day you'e came in learning new experiences and the interview will be one of them. I do wish there were more opportunities for apprentices, you never know when the next trip will be and you've just got to be lucky that your in the right place at the right time.