Engineering Apprentice Review

As an apprentice you will do rotations of the airport engineering departments. The first year is entirely college based with school holidays spent at the airport getting to know he airport between annual leave. After the first year you are on day release and start rotations around the departments. Days at work usually start with catching up with any handovers from previous shift and organising the jobs for the day and then you could be working on a variety of equipment doing maintenance or faults supported by technicians. When things get a little quieter, you can work on some college work and training.

The main qualifications I have done as a requirement to the apprenticeship are my L2/L3 NVQ and my L3 BTEC. On top of this I have opted to do a HNC in Electrical and electronic engineering that work has supported me through. At work there are many training oputuinities to aid my work eg. Electrical safety training, Slinging and lifting training. As part of the job there are lots of new things to learn and I've had experiences like learning to drive a tractor on the airfield to aid with the work we needed to do. I have gone from very little electrical/mechanical background to feeling confident in what I'm doing. There are a lot of skills I have learnt at work that I can take home with me and use outside of work. I have more of a confidence in what I am doing than before.

There is a massive gatwick family culture at the airport. Everyone is there to support you and will help where ever they can. We et many oputuinities to get involved in big STEM events and projects. Each year we go on outward bound which is a great trip to work as a team and get to know the rest of the apprentices. I've really enjoyed the variety of equipment that you get to work on and the environment I get to work in. There are very few places that offer a variety that we have from working on the vehicles to the X-ray machines and Air handling units.

We have an amazing apprenticeship manager that is looking out to aid us in apprentice and training. Training is split between college and work and you learn off the technicians that you are placed with. Work training is as good as what you put in. You can't sit around and do nothing and expect to learn. Our apprentice manager/NVQ assessor check in regularly to make sure that our qualifications are going well and if there is something that we fell we want training on we can either ask our manager or go straight to the technicians. They have a lot of information, tip and tricks that they can share. This year our HNC has gone a lot smoother and work has been planned out a lot more than before where it would be given a little last minute. As you gain more knowledge of the equipment you work on the technicians will let you take on more responsibility within reason on them.

There is support from everyone in (and for the most part out of)the engineering department. The apprenticeship is well known around the airport and everyone is happy to support you where they can. I have found in the past when I have struggled with college work, I can go to anyone in engineering and they will find someone that can help me out. You are never just dropped in the deep end to struggle. Most people are just an email away and they are looking towards creating the future engineers. We all have mentors but generally on each department there are people that we will go to for help as they have the best knowledge in that area.

Our teachers are very supportive and especially with having to go online, if you need any help of have issues, you can just message them and ask for help. They will give advice on how to complete the work and what they expect done. The college also have a learning support team which help if you have any learning difficulties. I have learnt how to navigate the work but when I had a high volume of assignments in my first year I had someone to aid me with this and help me where I struggled.

The BTEC qualifications are very important and help in the workplace. At work in can be difficult for you to train to you engineering machines but at college I had the chance to try out equipment I had never used. I leant how to turn metal on a lathe, mill, hand tools. Things that there may not be time for. My qualifications as a whole have given me background information that help me to not just do a job from repetition but to understand what everything does and how it works. It means that I can fault find and rely more on myself.

There are a few different things going on around the airport. It depends on the year and whats going on. In the past we have headlined the Ardingly STEM big bang and there are various charity event, family fun day and award events. The engineering department are big on STEM and are working with schools to promote STEM. This is based on people giving up their time to help out. Each year on the apprenticeship we do a week away team building which is a lot of fun and gives us a chance to get to know the new intake. Employees currently have access to discounted gym membership which many employees use and various corporate memberships including in the past kew gardens.

Yes

I would recommend the airport as a place to work. The airport is such a varied place to work and it is like working behind a whole town. Each day is quite literally different and you could be working in an area you've not worked before. I've learnt so much working at Gatwick and I have gained so many skills that I can use outside of work. The working environment in engineering is friendly and supportive.

The airport looks at what you potential is and what you could do. Show some of what you have done, even if it isn't directly related, if you can show interest and passion for engineering it always helps. In any interviews, just give it a go, no one is perfect and to show that you'll give any challenge your best with aid you. Look up the background of the airport and get at least a basic understanding for how it works. All experiences are worth something, so just include them and relate them to how it makes you stand out above others. As with any interview, ask questions, it's your chance to learn more about the job.