Apprentice aircraft fitter Review

First year is college based, gaining the practical skills (making a scanner mount bracket) and knowledge from academic subjects (theory of flight/H&S/business/Maths) to ready us for applying the skills and knowledge gained here into the practical duties which are conducted within one of the many factories located in North Wales in the subsequent years of the apprenticeship.

I have learnt many new skills on this apprenticeship. My background is in the academic sector studying sport so my hand skills and knowledge of tooling/engineering etc was very limited upon entering the course. However, you use a lot of different tools and equipment in college and support this with written questions to build up your proficiency and knowledge about how to use these hand tools and why they are used in the manner they are.

The programme I am on is a refreshing change from what I have done previously. The combination of academic and practical based tasks in your first year keeps you engaged and prevents the course feeling repetitive. Moreover, I have just entered the factory and to work even a small amount of time in such a professional and large company makes the application of the skills gained in college all the more worthwhile.

The course content is well planned out as the several academic courses ensure that all who enter the course have a sufficient base knowledge in a range of subjects which underpin Airbus as a company and also the work which is carried out in the factory. The practical elements could be a little longer or simply give more practical tasks to do, however, if you take your time or make mistakes and need to start again then it is well planned out.

There is a large support network on the course. The apprenticeship is like one big family as the older years tend to help each other out and the fitters you get put with in the factory have all been really helpful for me doing the job in the factory. You have an early careers manager to guide you through certain aspects of being on the job and in college there are your tutors, pastoral coach and the course leader who are all generally friendly and supportive in my personal experience

Airbus and Coleg Cambria work well together to put together a course which meets the requirements to become an aircraft fitter after 3 years on the apprenticeship. The early careers team support you on the job whilst the college management and tutors are really supportive on the academic side of things

The course has been in place for years and has been proven to provide a high standard and number of fitters over the years and continues to do so for one of the most prominent companies in the world, let alone the aviation sector. Whilst some academic courses seem unnecessary for becoming a fitter, they equip you with basic knowledge in smaller aspects of the job and also give students a chance to see whether moving to another aspect of the company would benefit them.

My year has been hit quite hard with covid-19 so these events have been quite limited. However, prior to the pandemic a large number of opportunities to assist the company with things like school visits, football on the company AstroTurf, networking events in local bars etc were all in place. Even during the pandemic, Gen-A aimed to get people together by hosting FIFA tournaments, online pub quizzes etc to keep the feeling of family in the company even in these hard times.

Yes

I would recommend Airbus to a friend as if they are not pursuing a passion then the next best thing is to find a job which provides you with a decent wage and good work life balance. Airbus provides this both on the apprenticeship and upon completion of the course, thus allowing someone like myself for example to have plenty of time to do my hobbies and socialise away from work whilst also earning enough money to pay for such things and also the necessities like rent/food/car etc

Assess your options. Look around at the possibility of further education, this apprenticeship, other apprenticeships, full time work elsewhere etc and decide which area is more like to provide you with the life and lifestyle that you want. This course or the engineering sector might not be for everyone but it's very worthwhile even if you don't come from an engineering or manufacturing background as you gain the skills and knowledge to do the job if you are willing to learn and develop these skills.