2019 Apprentice Review

My role is that of a maintenance apprentice, this means that each day I will be working with one of the maintenance teams on plant, the work we do each day can include attending breakdowns, completing preventative maintenance, completing repairs. As well as all of this you will attend college for one day each week.

Throughout my time working on the plant I have been consistently developing my skills and my knowledge of the engineering field, this is achieved by both working with and being tutored by maintenance associates who are much more knowledgeable and experienced than yourself, as well as through the various lessons and assignments provided by the college.

I thoroughly enjoy the entirety of my current apprenticeship program, both in terms of the working side and the college side, they both provide sufficient opportunities to develop my skills and knowledge while providing a challenge at the same time. The work on the plant also allows you to observe breakdowns and repairs that you would not likely be able to see anywhere else

On the whole the programme is individually fairly well structured for all of the training school work in the first year, the placement work in the second year and the college work throughout, however sometimes issues do occur do to a lack of communication between the training school, the college and the placements.

Throughout your time working as an apprentice on plant, for the most part you will receive the necessary support from everybody in the training school team, however there have been times where there was blatant issues with subjects such as scheduling or work and the training school knowingly ignored or deflected the issues raised.

Throughout my time working as an apprentice both the maintenance staff on the different technologies on the plant as well as the tutors in the college have been willing to provide as much support as is necessary to help you in the process of developing your knowledge and skills during your time there.

All of the lessons that are provided by the tutors during your weekly day attending college as well as the assignments you complete throughout the time will be beneficial to the work you will be doing. Subjects such as electrics, pneumatics, hydraulics, electronics and PLCs will be done throughout the college and all of this knowledge proves helpful when returning to work with maintenance.

Whereas there are usually several opportunities that are presented to you to partake in extra curricular activities throughout the several years in this apprenticeship, there currently however is no availability for extra curricular activities, these opportunities are not available due to the ongoing pandemic which obviously cannot be blamed on the apprenticeship itself.

Yes

working at BMW has allowed me to improve both my knowledge and my skills in the engineering & maintenance fields, allowing me to achieve higher qualifications in engineering subjects and providing me a living wage, all while still providing work which is very enjoyable. All of the college tutors and maintenance teams have also been happy to work with you and go out of their way to help you.

While working in the Assembly, Body in White and Paintshop technologies within the Mini plant you will get a very unique and interesting set of opportunities in comparison to almost any other engineering / maintenance apprenticeship going, so be sure to make the most of all of the time in each of these placements as they will allow you to develop your skills and knowledge in the sector as well as preparing you for an actual maintenance role.