Maintenance Apprentice Review

I work as a maintenance technician in a 3-cylinder and 4-cylinder engine factory fixing machines, specifically in the CNC machining workshop. Currently I am based on the crank shaft line and have been for the past 7 months. I work a three shift rotation, mornings, evenings and nights. Everyday is different and exciting.

Since beginning my apprenticeship journey in August 2017, I have learned so many new skills; I left school with 'OK' grades, meeting the criteria required for the apprenticeship, the first year is 100% at college, using your existing knowledge to broaden your skills. For example we had lessons for 'Material Structures' which was essentially Chemistry and Physics from GCSE.

I am very privileged to be able to say I really enjoy my job, everyday is exciting and different from the last. Some days will be non-stop, constantly battling breakdown after breakdown, and other days will be easy going. The support myself and the other apprentices receive from the technicians is amazing, they are always happy to help and develop our skills.

After numerous days onsite for assessments and interviews we were informed over the phone we had been selected and sent contracts, a few months later we all attended an induction, meeting each other for the first time and an overview of what the next 4 years had in store for us. This provided a good insight into the structure of our apprenticeship and job role.

We receive close support from almost everyone we work with, because we are on 3 month placements until 4th year, we work with almost everyone and come in contact with lots of different people, this allows for us to build relationships with potential future colleagues. We have support from our fantastic college lecturers, NVQ assessors, training manager, placement manager, shift leaders, technicians; and the list goes on!

We receive all the support we need, due to the environment being quite busy we have to talk with our managers to arrange times when we can take study leave, or sit in a meeting room with other apprentices to work together on college work or projects. Everyone understands that although we work on the tools, we are also part time students, so they make plenty of exceptions for us.

Over the past 4 years I've been introduced into countless subjects at college that have proven to be useful in my job today such as Pneumatic systems, Hydraulic systems, PLC controllers, Programming and Coding. I might now be a genius regarding this subjects as of now, however they have given me a great basic understanding of which i am able to put into practice at work, thus further developing my skills, experience and knowledge.

Our factory does lots of different events each year, such as charity football tournaments, cake sales, and 'The Mountain Challenge' to name a few. Our HR team also puts forward a vote every year for us to decide which charity will will support for that year, 2019 was Macmillan and 2020 was Alzheimer's Research. Also each line will have a Christmas do together.

Yes

BMW Group is a fantastic company to work for, everyone here is happy, the jobs are enjoyable, the benefits are hard to beat, the camaraderie helps push everyone to work their hardest, employees are rewarded with bonuses, and recognition awards. Overall BMW is for anyone whos willing to go the extra mile, to work a little harder, and for people who have a desire to be the best they can be; and in turn BMW reward us.

When applying big yourself up, but be honest. I didn't want to apply because I didn't think I would be good enough, but my mum made me. She told me I had to be confident, she had faith in me and it was important I had faith too. I didn't have amazing GCSEs, I'm far from any sort of genius, however I excelled in the group activity on the interview day, I smashed the practical building assessment and I gave genuine passionate answers during my 1 on 1 interview; all through having a bit of confidence.