Air Engineering Technician Review

As an engineering technician apprentice, I spent my first year in the Academy for Skills and Knowledge. I moved around the different sections, spending roughly six weeks on each one; Electronics, CAD, CAM, Fitting, Electrical, Business Improvement Techniques and Robotics. I also had a college day once a week, where I completed different units; Mathematics, Health and Safety, Fluid Systems, Materials and Mechanical Principles. After my first year I then went out into the business to complete various placements to get a better understanding of the business itself and also of what I was interested in.

Yes, I have learnt new skills and developed my existing skills since starting this apprenticeship. When I started the apprenticeship, I was already quite competent with hands on work like electrical installations and fitting; these skills I just improved upon. During the first year I gained new skills and experience in things like CAD, CAM, Business Improvement Techniques and Robotics. I also gained lots of new knowledge from my college units. All these skills have been useful to me, since moving out into the business and they have helped me in my placements so far.

I am enjoying this apprenticeship, the work is mostly enjoyable and always educational. In first year you are put in a team of about 12 and you will stay with them for the whole year; this is good because you make good friends but bad because you don't get to mingle with the rest of the new apprentices. The company is very supportive of your development, as are the internal and external training providers.

My induction in 2019 was extremely unorganised and left apprentices confused as to what they were doing. It took months to get us onto our company laptops and the same amount of time to gain access to the building we spent 100% of our time in. The support is good, work paid for a professional dyslexia assessment for me and it turns out I have it; they are very supportive of this and I have monthly meetings to see if there is anything they can do to help me. Once the induction was over, the programme became more organised and we knew what we were doing on a day to day basis. Overall, I think it is quite well structured.

Lots. I have frequent meetings with my skills coach and also my placement managers. I have many people who I can contact for support with all types of problems. The support is quite easy to come by and everyone is very easy to talk to. I am dyslexic and colour blind; college supports my dyslexia very well by giving me extra time if I need it. In an electrical based placement, my skills coach supported my colour blindness by clarifying if I had got the right coloured wires to the correct terminals.

In first year, our further education was provided by Longridge Teaching Centre, they gave us poor teachers who were very unsupportive and gave very little feedback on our assignments. We now have Burnley College, the teachers are slightly better than at Longridge but they still don't give much assignment feedback. As I have been working from home for all of my second year, I cant give a true review on Burnley College because they are probably struggling with the online situation.

At the moment, I don't think it has helped me to perform better in my role. Your placement will provide all the appropriate training and guidance you will need to help you perform. College sort of gives you an understanding of general engineering; some maths, some mechanical principles and some electrical principles. As of yet, I haven't really put them into practice. I feel like the college aspect of the apprenticeship is just ticking boxes and isn't directly related to the work; at least from my experience so far.

In the first year there are a few compulsory enrichment activities; we did World Skills UK, WHYSUP and Safe Drive Stay Alive. These were all very interesting and I highly recommend attending them. I think there is a German exchange event but we haven't been told about this formally. However, the world has took a turn and these types of face to face events are no longer an option. There are lots of virtual talks that you can attend made readily available.

Yes

BAE Systems is an excellent company to work for. The opportunity to work on some of the worlds most advanced fighter jets is an opportunity that I wouldn't be willing to turn down. They provide you with quality training, plenty of support, job security and a competitive salary. I chose the apprenticeship route because I didn't like the idea of sixth form or university; this apprenticeship is a great way to bypass this and get paid whilst learning.

Start your application early because it takes a long time. Practice your maths, hands on and presentation skills for the interview day because they want to get to know as much about you as they can on the day. Try and find someone who has done the apprenticeship and talk to them about it to see if it is right for you. Find out about the company, what we make, who we make it for and what our competition is.