Apprentice Aircraft Technician/ fitter Review

I am a third year aircraft engineering apprentice and this involves carrying out maintenance activities on the aircraft. These maintenance activities could be Avionics based or mechanical based and as an apprentice, I've had the chance to be involved in both types of jobs or tasks. My role also involves personal development which means continuous learning and training to make myself more skilled and competent Technician.

Most of the skills I have used during this apprenticeship are skills I learnt while I was at the training centre and others I learnt through the job while performing the tasks required. These skills are practical skills such as using hand tools to complete a task. Other skills that I have developed include writing, communication using technical terminology and filling forms for part orders, defect reports, handover and other related forms.

I am very happy with the program. My mentors are very competent and are very happy to help whenever I need their guidance. I am learning new skills and gaining more experience. My managers are very attentive and always ensuring my safety and wellbeing through constant contacts such as welfare calls.

The program is very well organised. Even though I have had to go on furlough due to the corona virus, I was able to continue and progress in my training. I was able to complete online training that was organised and assigned by my manager while at home, to make me more skilled and ready for employment when the apprenticeship is completed.

I have great group of people who look after different aspects of my apprenticeship. My training, progress and completion of the apprenticeship that focuses on getting all my exams and all the paperwork ready is one aspect and the other is my placements and other issues like ID or pass relatedapprences and these are all looked after by our apprenticeship management team.

Whilst working on getting the requirements for the apprentceship, I had great support from my assessor. Anytime I had questions or needed help, he was ready to help and was very happy to give constructive feedback on my work which helped me develop and widen my knowledge even more. There is a support system for taking remedials and exams as well.

The qualifications I gained through the apprenticeship included subjects that are very essential to the work that needs to be done on the aircraft. One of the modules I completed at the training centre had a hangar phase which was completing actual tasks such as removal and installation of aircraft parts. That was a great introduction before my placement started.

Apprentces are welcomed to get involved in extracurricular activities such as guiding visitors around, being involved in career events to answer questions from potential applicants or parents who want to know about the sector and the apprenticeship program and getting a direct contact with higher up management like department heads to ask questions and give updates on how the apprenticeship is going.

Yes

I have enjoyed my time with the Company, I have learnt great skills and developed the ones I already had. I learnt a lot from my mentors and their experiences. My managers have been very attentive and look after all aspects of the program and my wellbeing. I think it is a very goid apprenticeship program for anyone who is interested.

I would say get the basic knowledge required for the program such as the Maths and English GCSEs. If possible try and get a work experience placement, companies like BA have systems that allow students to do placements. I believe this will help them see and decide if it's something they really want to approach and that is their chosen career.