Aircraft engineering apprentice Review

I am an apprentice aircraft engineer. This is a role in which I work alongside qualified engineers and learn how to provide maintenance work; such as modifications, rectification and servicing to aircraft which British Airways uses for flying passengers.

Having previously started my apprenticeship elsewhere, I have furthered my skills whilst being here due to the continuous exposure to aircraft I have had.

I enjoy the work on the aeroplanes and I get on well with the people I work with, however the pace of work and overall corporate culture is not something I enjoy. Generally it seems as though business-employee relationships are poor and morale relatively low which sometimes makes for a demotivating environment. Having experienced a different work environment with another company, I preferred being busier with work throughout the day and more structured breaks etc. For a learner, it can be demotivating when the pace of work is slow or structured in such a way that there are no contiguous blocks of time to better utilise for study etc. At my previous employer/apprenticeship, we were rotated through many different areas of the business and different sites as the employer paid for accommodation as required, as BA do not provide assistance with this, you are only really exposed to the area of the operation you start with (other than rotating through hangar or line maintenance at that area). Overall I feel that there is worthwhile experience to be had, and a BA apprenticeship is a worthwhile "foot in the door" of the industry, but the overall work environment is not representative of the broader industry and thus may leave graduates unprepared for the next steps of their career.

The structure and organisation generally works well. Based on our situation, it took some time for things to fall into place. Once it got going, it still seemed a struggle to completely get to a point where it felt normal.

We received a normal amount of support, with being moved to different areas of the company to complete the NVQ. This is the only real supper given however from my point of view

They kept check on us to ensure we were getting the right work completed and done in an acceptable time. Apart from this the company itself is what provided the support to complete the NVQ

The qualification itself does not really provide any bonus to my performance. It’s the ability to gain hands on skills which helps

I am unaware of any activities

Yes

It is another way to get into the aviation industry so in that part I would recommended. However keep options open for other companies

Take what they say with a pinch of salt. Work past the corporate culture the company has as a whole.