Toolmaker Review

I spend my days at college as well as the tool room in Swindon. College will involve theory work, learning topics such as electrical science, material science, maths and health & safety. you will also work on practical tasks in the foundation part of college where you will be expected to learn topics in mechanical and electrical studies and then carry out practical assignments. I also spend time in the tool room in the Swindon plant where I have been learning about repairing dies, how dies work, how the presses work.

you will always be working towards developing a new skill during your apprenticeship, when I am in the tool room I feel like I learn a new thing about grinding or welding techniques or how to find faults every day. I have previous experience as well, but even my preexisting skills have been developed to a higher level.

The programme is made most enjoyable by the people you work with, the people hired alongside me have been a lot of fun to get to know and work with. The work itself is usually very fulfilling but it can feel like too much at times in college if you start falling behind since its a very fast paced environment

there is a strong foundation in the Swindon plant and there is a decent amount of structure, the college does feel a bit hectic sometimes as there is a lot of work to get through and sometimes it feels like the work being set is not made clear enough and this can then sometimes lead to a lot of work piling up as you have to keep on adding stuff and reworking it.

The support provided from my manager in Swindon is very good and consistent as you have weekly catch up meetings to discuss your progress and what you did over the week. you also are able to message them whenever you need help or advice which is a good feeling for us.

The help we receive from college is good but not to the level we have in the Swindon plant. Lecturers are very helpful and very willing to work with you to get you to your target grades but it does feel sometimes that more work could be done if the college managed its timings for classes better.

the training provider definitely provides enough new skills and theories for us to learn that we feel more confident in the workplace, many of the things I have learnt in college I have also used in the tool room in the Swindon plant to complete my job to a higher standard

there are quite a few extra curricular activities such as working for the charity team, the newsletter, the mountain challenge, and skern lodge. I have spent some time with the charity team which involves coming up with ideas about raising money for a specific cause such as alzheimers or cancer.

Yes

I have been an apprentice in 2 different companies so I know how much better BMW is at training apprentices compared to other companies. The best part of the apprenticeship is the people you will get to know and develop with. other than that, the benefits are excellent, you will learn something new everyday, each day feels fulfilling, and management are easy to talk to.

The job is made a lot easier if you can drive. I currently work in the Swindon plant but go to college in oxford so that means you need to have a way of getting there, you can of course get a lift with someone who can drive which is what I did until I passed my test. you should also be aware the application process is long, this can be used to your advantage as you have a lot of time to prepare by practicing interview questions for the individual and group interview. You should definitely apply if you are interested in engineering, even if you have no experience or are straight out of GCSEs you will be trained up to the same level as everyone else.