NDT Degree Apprentice Review

My role involves inspecting Aerospace engine parts to ensure they are safe and faultless before they go on the wing of an aircraft, this involves spending my days on the shop floor processing and inspecting the parts along with some project work and report writing as i prepare for my job role.

i have completed a wide number of training courses on various different topics as well as some appreciation courses in welding, milling and turning. i also travel to the South West School of NDT in cardiff for training in the 5 NDT methods and northampton university to complete my degree.

i enjoy my programme for the work but the apprentice tasks can be a bit tedious and the amount of training often means i'm away from my placement for more than half the duration which isn't very good for getting my experience hours. i think my programme is one of the most interesting with the amount of travel we get to do.

my programme could do with some better structure as quite often we are not being told the information about what we will be doing until very close before the activity, our university requires some better structure and communication between us them and our managers as quite often important information doesn't make it to us due to lack of communication.

i receive a fair amount of support from my employer but i feel as though sometimes they have too much on their plate to support us fully. my placement managers have ranged from not very supportive at all to being there for me whenever i need them, the flexibility of the programme also helps lots as someone who has to spend a lot of time out of placement.

not as much as i would like, most of our degree seems to be self taught at the minute. i struggle to keep up with all my revision and work at the same time and we do not get as much from the lecturers as we require with regards to explanations or revision resources.

some of my university modules are relevant to my job role and do help me perform better, for example the modules on the NDT techniques help me understand the method better but some of the other modules are less relevant however we have raised this with the uni and they said they review the content every year.

we have a wide variety of STEM events and projects to get involved in, as well as ambassador opportunities and monthly BINDT meetings. there is the rolls royce leisure facility in Derby that offers sports activities that people can go and be part of a team or just play at their own leisure.

Yes

it is a large well networked company with the opportunity to branch out into a multitude of different areas, they also have a large network with other companies so they can always find you an opportunity to further your career and professional development in whichever area you wish to explore.

Do your research, use the internet to do plenty of looking into the programme you are applying for as well as the methods behind it. look into the rolls royce attributes and see if you have those personality traits and be yourself in the interview, have confidence in your abilities.