Apprentice Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Review

My role is to carry out both scheduled and unplanned maintenance work on aircraft to ensure they are airworthy and can transport our customers safely to their destinations. The sorts of jobs I carry out can vary from day to day and everyday is a new experience and a learning curve.

I have learnt many new skills during my apprenticeship. Such as learning to work with aircraft, components and tools. I have also developed many existing skills such as team working, problem solving and using initiative. I have also become more responsible as it is important that I can carry out my job to the highest standards to keep people safe.

I really enjoy my program as it is a good mix of both theory and practical work which, allows me to both gain qualifications and valuable experience which will allow me to progress in the future. I have also met many new friends and really feel part of the team.

The programme is excellently structured. The first year is spent away at a training provider where we are provided with a great programme allowing us to work towards our Aircraft Mechanic A licence. The next 2 years consist of spending time at various engineering departments around British airways gaining on the job experience.

British Airways offers much support and often without having to be asked. As it is such a big company they have many facilities and fantastic support services. We also have regular welfare calls where our managers check in on us and see if we need any support or just to have a chat.

We have regular Microsoft Teams calls with our training provider helping us through our coursework which goes towards receiving our qualifications and completing the apprenticeship. The instructors are all so helpful and are always fast to reply to any questions and keen to help work through any problems. The training provider is very supportive.

Everything we learned at the training provider’s facility has proved extremely valuable and helpful when in the real working environment. Gaining the qualifications also allows us to progress and gives us more responsibility as an engineer within the company, allowing us to carry out and certify more complex tasks.

There are lots of extra curricular activities to get involved in catering to all interests. At the moment due to the pandemic they have not been running but they will be back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. The extra curricular activities are great for employee morale and make you feel part of a team rather than just an employee.

Yes

I would recommend British Airways to a friend because it is a fantastic company to work for due to the pathways within the company, the opportunities it presents its employees and the many benefits it provides. It also has many different areas of work which means people of all interests can apply.

I advise people to apply for work experience first to ensure that you know exactly what it is like. This will also make your application stand out. Another piece of advice I would give is to be yourself! As long as you show you are keen to learn and give it your all, you cannot be overlooked!