Engineering Apprentice Review

I am studying within my fourth year of this apprenticeship meaning I am doing one day a week at college studying my HNC and following the given shift pattern for the department that I am rotating on. This being a mixture 12 hour days and nights (some department's only do day shifts) The shift work allows for fantastic time off due to generous amounts of rest. Day to day involves shadowing engineers and going out to faults as well as routine maintenance. This means I am constantly hands on. I would arrive to work and see what work would be being conducted on the day. From this we may have a morning meeting to which we will then go out for our routine maintenance. The jobs would resolve around daily maintenance, scheduled maintenance and call out for faults. Night shifts offer a great time to work on equipment that would be too crucial to the operation of the airport if taken out during the day. The Airport never stops so it allows for great hands on work. My role as an apprentice at Gatwick Airport is to shadow engineers but to be part of a team in order to complete a task as well as increasing my knowledge of mechanical / electrical engineering. This is preparing for qualifying as an Engineer so that I can work to the best of my ability. So far for my HNC I have studied Engineering design, Engineering Science, Digital principles and Engineering Maths. As well as Electrical and Electronic principles, Design project and Mechatronics.

Since joining the apprenticeship scheme, my knowledge of electrical / mechanical theory and skill has grown massively. From my current department I have learnt how to conduct electrical tests / prove dead on systems, how to work on / service generators / barriers / pumps, installation of new components (such as solar panels) and how to work effectively as part of a team. This has built my confidence up when attempting to fix a fault as well as when working as part of the team. Gatwick offer many training courses to which we as apprentices can complete. A few being our air-side driving, advanced first aid, various talks about new projects and Electrical Safety Rules training (which allows us to work on electrical equipment / prove that systems are dead) confined space medium risk entry training. Each department offers new sources of knowledge due to the jobs being undertaken meaning each time you move to your next department (every 3-4 months) you learn new things due to being on different departments. Each year I have moved onto I have seen the change in my knowledge and understanding of Electrical and Mechanical knowledge. It has given me the confidence to lead Maintenance and Fault jobs at work (with the supervision of an Engineering Technician). I have also begun more complex jobs at home, mainly working on cars.

The apprenticeship constantly allows for you to develop throughout, everyday is different at the airport due to the variations of faults / maintenance. As an apprentice you are involved in new projects / training course meaning every week you may be out and about from your department. This may be a joint apprentice project attempting to improve current designs such as an electrical safety testing board / our display rigs for public events. Working around airport equipment also offers differentiation as this generally means bigger or more complex equipment. For example, yearly Gatwick conducts its annual maintenance of the shuttle and baggage systems to ensure that they are in full working order. Apprentices are offered to come and work along side these works in order to increase our knowledge of a more in depth maintenance activity. Yearly Gatwick Airport sends us apprentices to a team building trip to the Outward bounds trust. This is usually for a week and means we spend the majority of the time outside doing activities such as rock climbing, hiking and water sports. This means constantly you have something to look forward to / something that's different which keeps you interested within the programme. The work culture at Gatwick is fantastic. A lot of the Engineers at Gatwick have completed the Apprenticeship in the past (Including our Apprentice Manager) which means they have a great passion for helping apprentices that join their shift meaning you get really well looked after. All the engineers I have come into contact with have always been highly approachable and treat you as part of the team. It also is reassuring / constructive to see the level of responsibility and trust increase by each year of the apprenticeship.

The apprenticeship is a 4 year course involving going to college / rotating around all the engineering departments at Gatwick. Year one is full time at college, this will mean studying level 3 btecs and level 2 competences in hand fitting / installation. During half terms apprentices will come into work visiting a day at all the departments. Year two would involve studying further level 3 btecs as well as taking a project. Years 3/4 is where you can apply / study for a HNC / Level NVQ as well as starting shift work. At Gatwick, everything is extremely well organised as usually you will be at your department unless you are attending an event, training course or project. College is on the whole fairly organised with a sometimes slow start to the year in September, however this picks up during the year. Continuing my HNC, NVQ and shift work (where I am currently at in my fourth year) has allowed for a great challenge as well as being able to feel like part of the team on the departments. As an apprentice you will be assigned with a mentor, they are for your support and can be contacted if a problem occurs. A monthly meet up / phone call is common as it allows for you to talk about how things have gone in that month. Overall the scheme is very well thought out with plenty of support / development present.

The support at Gatwick is excellent. Firstly our apprentice manager is here for our needs as we work our way through the program. This means any issues can be taken directly to him to which he address them as soon as possible. Our apprentice manager will try and check in on us as much as possible, being an engineer before as well as completing the apprenticeship it means he understands the job / the apprenticeship extremely well which means we constantly get the help when we need it. An example of the support given is when he helped me and two other apprentices with our electrical testing, we asked him for a bit of help as we were struggling to understand how to test dead on a 3 phase motors, he then made an appointment within our calendars and we went down to the work shop to practice. Our mentors serve the same purpose but to a more of a day to day basis. They can be approached about problems at work or difficult topics being studied at college. All engineers at Gatwick can be approached easily with any problems, this again may be a difficult question at college which they may understand or just to have a chat. Overall the culture at Gatwick is fantastic as if you are worried or confused it's easy to approach anyone no matter of the department.

Our training currently is at East Surrey college where we study our level 2,3 and 4 qualifications. The college has extremely good equipment for practical work with a large machine shop and welding facility. The teachers are generally very helpful and knowledgeable. Because of this they are happy to help us apprentices overcome problems we may be facing in our assignments. We learn \ mixture of electrical and mechanical subjects which help us develop our skills at Gatwick. The equipment the college has is not always relevant to Gatwick however it builds the fundamental skills so that it can be transferred to the equipment when we go to work. All that I have learnt at college I have more or less used at work in order to complete jobs. The response to the current COVID-19 Pandemic has been really impressive as it offers in person and or remote learning.

What I have learnt at college has helped me understand the theory / the process in order to fix things / overcome problems. By progressing up the qualification level you begin to understand a greater depth in electrical and mechanical principles. By doing so it means that we are able to tackle more complex faults at work and be able to understand as well as fix them. The mixture between mechanical, electrical and controls is well balanced as we have many different systems at Gatwick airport. All that I have learnt at college I have more or less used at work in order to complete jobs. This gives me confidence for when I come out of my apprenticeship as I feel as if I will not struggle or not understand the systems at Gatwick Airport. It simply means that you understand how the system works rather than just being able to fix it. Meaning you are able to tackle harder faults or maintenance due to having a greater understanding. The qualifications I have gained / are studying may not always be exactly what Gatwick does / has but with the mixture of going into work and working on the systems we have it allows for that knowledge to be applied. However, this is why the apprenticeship is excellent as it means we get the on the job experience when we go into work.

Gatwick offers an annual out of bounds experience for the apprentices studying, this is a trip to an out of bounds trust for a week through work. It allows for us to be outdoors for a week, hiking, kayaking, mountain climbing and much more. This is a great experience to be able to have through work as it gives us time to relax and have fun as well as bonding as a group. Yearly Gatwick airport hosts Gatfest and Gatwick fun day which is social celebration thrown for all Gatwick staff and the public.

Yes

I can firstly say that the apprenticeship offers a great education throughout, ensuring that we gain knowledge (electrical and mechanical mix) and experience throughout. The sections at Gatwick are also very good, each section is responsible for different tasks / systems which means you are not stuck doing one role. This also links with us rotating through the sections (3-4 month rotations) to which we can then apply for an available vacancy on the desired department. This gives us an opportunity to decide which department is right for us. The pay / holiday during and after the apprenticeship is also very competitive compared to other apprenticeships which I found often is greater than most if not all rivals. The apprenticeship also offers activities such as the outward bound trip, projects and promotional events which mix up your normal working days. Annually, depended on the airports success / your personal review, it may allow for you to qualify for a yearly bonus. Our apprenticeship manager is excellent, he supports us through the program and regularly checks up on us at college or on our sections. This helps with any issues that may occur. The Gatwick Airport apprenticeship also stood out to me compared to when I applied / had interviews for others. On the day of the interview I met several of the managers, technicians and HR employees during the day. One of the differences I found between the staff at Gatwick compared to other company's I applied for was the culture. Everyone I met on my interview day were completely approachable, friendly and helpful. I was able to have conversions or ask questions without feeling uncomfortable. It was one of the other factors that made me choose this apprenticeship over other options / programs I applied for due to knowing that the staff and management were extremely helpful and friendly. This is as well as making some of the best friends within my year group which makes college / meeting up even better. I believe overall this apprenticeship is an extremely good option for any one who has interests in engineering as well as working for Gatwick Airport LTD. The future for Gatwick is also exciting, the plans for the second runway mean that the business is growing and allows for greater potential for the future.

The application process is quite straight forward, it begins with your application forms, CV and covering letter. With this you complete an online interview which is a video assessment, this gives you 5 questions. You have a minute to read / plan your answer and then 1 minute to respond via a recording on a web cam. You then upload and save the video (you have limited attempts) and send this off. If you are successful you then get invited to an application day (this is subject to change so may differ year to year) to which you have a meet / talk, group activity, practical exam, theory exam and panel interview. After this you will be contacted with a job other. The only requirements for this apprenticeships are GCSE'S with a C in both Math and English required. A big deal of this is down to your personality. It is recommended to bring any work you do at home or courses you take as I found this brought a good talking point to the interviews. I would also recommend focusing on interview technique as it helps massively when trying to impress / compete with competition.