Aircraft Fitter Review

The role as an apprentice is to help the qualified aircraft fitters complete their work package every day. Alongside this you are required to attend college once per week to undertake academic study. This involves working on a Btec Level 3. Whilst in the factory you have to work on particular jobs to meet specified criteria which works towards you other qualifications.

In terms of qualifications I have received multiple which are very aircraft manufacturing and maintenance related. However, in terms of experience I have received a wide variety of transferable skills for work and every day life. The most important one would be communication. Naturally, working in a large factory requires you to speak to multiple people very day. Here, you can learn how to successfully communicate with a wide variety of personalities to achieve the end products you desire.

The initial shift we were working on was 7:45 - 17:00 and straddled two normal shifts which meant we had to work with two teams per day. I felt this affected how well we could learn the job and the people we were working with which in turn made me not enjoy the role. Since working on the double days shifts we have felt more included into the teams and have seen the jobs carried out from the start of the shift to the end every day. This has increased my enjoyment far more.

I think in terms of a plan, it is very good from induction right through to when we are finished. Before the pandemic some of the dates had been moved around a bit, plus there were times in college where we had nothing to do as we had finished the programme for that year. I felt the company has done well to manage the pandemic and has probably been more impressive since then in terms of structure which might be showing their improvement

Their are numerous areas for support within the early careers team for all problems in work our at home. My early careers manager does this very well and is always available to speak if required. The factory and manufacturing team is a bit different however, we do not come under their branch so it would not be expected. Hence how good the early careers team are for this.

The college we attend are generally very good at helping you pass the qualifications. The provide all of the learning materials to help pass every assignment in time and too meet all deadlines. Some people aim to achieve distinction grades in their work and are helped with this when they reach out. The facilities in the college are very good however I feel they could make more of them.

The qualification itself helps in some areas in terms of human factors which I feel is one of the most important areas taught in the college. Also the basic understanding of the major components and systems are also very useful. Some of this feel slightly too much for the role however I feel it is good to have the extra information for potential future use.

There is a suborganisation called Gen a who organise these extra curricular events however I have not really been to any of them. In the monthly communications they show what is coming up in the near future and also give us an idea of how the previous ones have been.

Yes

It is a very large and supportive employer for the local area with options to further yourself in the future. The money they pay is good for the area and the hours you work. There are many very helpful people who work their even if it is not their responsibility. If you are unsure of what you want to do for the rest of your life, I would 100% recommend joining Airbus because I am sure you will enjoy it here and it will give you options going forward.

In the interview it doesn't matter on the outcome of the task, just make sure you communicate well between each other, include the quieter people, implement a strategy and praise others thoughts even if they are not on the same page as yourself. On the online interview have examples of working in teams or under pressure and show a good basic knowledge of Airbus as a company.