Airbus Craft Apprentice Review

Throughout the first year of my apprenticeship I attended college where I learnt about aviation, what the job is like and gained many hand skills in the workshop. Now currently in my second year I still attend college on a weekly basis for my academic studies however I am also now I’m the factory putting what I have learnt in my first year to use. This is made possible by working with others to prevent any mistakes however it also allows me to gain hands on experience.

Throughout the course of the apprenticeship I have learnt many new skills as I had never worked with a lot of the materials and tooling before however through practice I have gained a lot of experience. It is also possible to see a severe increase in my hand skills from when I first started to now .

In my opinion the programme has been well suited to me with a good mix between practical and theory work allowing me to learn in the classroom and apply the knowledge in the workshop. There has also been a lot of variety in the programme and I have enjoyed all of it thus far.

Considering how COVID has affected the world the apprenticeship has remained fairly well organised and structured especially considering a lot of precautions have had to be put in place to us to carry on working. COVID aside the apprenticeship has been well structured in general as it has allowed us to learn about the aircraft as a whole and not just the jobs we’ll be doing.

So far I have been fortunate enough to not require any additional support however if I do ever have an issue small or big there is always several people I can contact to immediately resolve it whether that be in college or in the factory as everyone is always willing to help. It has also remained this way from my first day until now.

I have been fortunate enough to receive all the support I could ask for throughout my apprenticeship even if this has meant using google meeting/zoom calls to communicate as it is important to meet the quality gates put in place and not fall being on any work. By receiving this support it has also allowed me to achieve Distinctions throughout my academic studies.

In my opinion everything I have covered in my apprenticeship thus far has been beneficial to me and by covering it I feel that I will be able to perform my role more efficiently. This is because by having the background knowledge it provides you with a greater understanding of the tasks which you are actually doing and can help prevent any confusion.

Throughout my apprenticeship I have been invited to many extra curricular activities through Gen A which gets various individuals on the apprenticeship involved in various activities such as hiking up Snowdonia or even taking part in football games. These activities are also always going on and you don’t have to attend every one making them ideal for times when you are not too busy.

Yes

I would recommend working at Airbus to a friend as it is a great industry to be in and you get the opportunity to work with many individuals and learn many new skills. You also can have a lot of fun and many laughs whilst getting paid and gaining qualifications.

In my opinion I wouldn’t worry if you don’t have the hand skills or knowledge about aviation as you will pick up on a lot of this throughout your first year in college and then you can put the knowledge you have gained to the real world in your second year. Therefore I would recommend applying to anyone who is even remotely interested in the industry as you will not regret it.