EDAS Aerospace Engineer Review

Throughout the apprenticeship, you will spend time in several different placements looking at all aspects of the business. Because of this, the day-to-day work will vary drastically, but no matter where you find yourself within the business, you will always be given important tasks and feel as if you are contributing to the business. You will often find yourself in contact with several members of your team on a daily to weekly basis, with everyone more than happy to help you and check up on you, and your progress. No matter where you go, you always feel valued and given plenty of interesting work.

There are countless opportunities to develop new skills, and I have never felt like I am stagnating in terms of my professional and personal development. Many training and courses are offered and encouraged during the apprenticeship, where I personally have been able to learn CAD, programming, fitting, business improvement techniques, among countless other things. My placement managers have helped me gain valuable working skills, and helped build a new mindset when it comes to approaching my work. Their valuable insight helps put every piece of work you do into perspective, explaining why we do things and not just how we do them. Finally, my skills coach has helped vastly increase my professional skills. Where they have helped reinforce confidence not just in my work but also how I put myself out there within the business.

I could not dream of doing anything else, I am very grateful and glad I was given the opportunity to join this apprenticeship. There is plenty of varied, important and challenging work throughout the several placements. And there is a very strong sense of togetherness throughout the business, everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Your team will be more than happy to help you with any piece of work or just to be someone to talk to. My experience here has completed exceeded my expectations, I have been able to do and learn so much more than I ever expected, and have enjoyed every second.

As the entire course has been running for a few years now, it has definitely helped create a more streamlined programme, as the greater experience for the team helps advise newcomers on what to expect/do. For the first few months, you will receive all sorts of training and inductions into various areas of the business, preparing you for when you do go on your placements. And if you ever felt overwhelmed by the information given during that time, you could easily talk to one of the skills coaches who would be more than happy to help you. It is very easy to get in contact with your coach and hold individual sessions with them, and with the team expanding all the time, the ratio of coaches to apprentices will allow for even more time with them to be mentored.

Throughout the business there is a very forward thinking attitude towards supporting each other. Every team understands the situation of an apprentice and is always happy to help you with your work if you do not understand what to do, or just have some questions about the task. Managers also keep in contact with their team, and individual members of it, with frequent team and 1-2-1 meetings. These meetings allow you to voice any concerns you may have, this could be work related or personal. Either way, there is always someone there who is happy to listen and aid you in whatever way they can.

As there is a relatively low number of apprentices per tutor, you definitely benefit greatly with their ease of access. They know who you are and can give you more than enough time to aid you in whatever way you may need it. There is a strong sense of wanting every body to succeed and thus are very approachable if you ever need assistance. The work is interesting and also very relevant to your career, and will often aid you in your placements and vice versa.

On the diploma side of the apprenticeship, you get to experience a lot of different areas of the business and how they operate. You get an understanding and appreciation of how they work on manufacturing lines, the aircraft themselves, etc. Once you are in the business you will often come across the topics that you covered, and be able to put what you learnt into practice. There is also plenty of opportunity to then do your own research, by asking team members you can learn more about the business, how it operates, what they do and it help cover off more areas of your qualification.

There are countless groups and activities to get involved in throughout the business, and they are all easily accessible and are advertised regularly. The company will often hold awareness weeks/months where many activities are held to help get involved and learn about new things. There is also ample opportunity to volunteer and get involved yourself, no matter what it might be. And many teams and support groups hold out of work activities, even throughout the pandemic people have adjusted these to be more suitable at home. Ensuring that everyone can still get together in a safe nonwork setting.

Yes

It is truly an experience that you will enjoy and benefit from greatly, learning many new skills from first-hand experience and getting paid whilst you are at it. The course allows you to get a taste of several areas that might interest you, thus helping you decide which area is best for you and that you would like to focus on post-apprenticeship. The support from not just the apprentice team, but the company as a whole is excellent. The entire company sees the benefit in having apprentices and invest in them heavily to ensure you have the best experience possible.

Do not feel as though you need to have experience within engineering, or the topics often associated with it. The course is for anyone and everyone; you will not be thrown in the deep end, as the course covers everything from top to bottom. The placements are all very different and help you get a taste of many areas of the business, there is something for every one. If you feel as though there is a specific area you would like to try out, all you have to do is ask.