Aircraft maintenance technician Review

In the first year you will be taught different modules to be able to achieve your qualification if you pass them. There is a workshop phase where you learn hand skills with a variety of tools and materials. In the second year you are placed on an RAF base where you learn to work on aircraft and do jobs to be able to provide sufficient evidence to complete your NVQ.

I have learnt many skills relating to maintaining aircraft involving problem solving, tool skills, teamwork and general common sense when working on aircraft. I have developed my people skills from meeting a variety of different people, my confidence in my ability has improved due to doing something important every day

The first year was very tough but i was lucky enough to get a good cohort which made it so much more enjoyable to come into work. the workshop was the best part of the first year, i really enjoyed the completing the tasks and it was very satisfying when you got good marks. The second year is okay so far, working on live jets is fun but can prove frustrating too. Getting used to everything in the facility is also difficult as there is so much to learn and take in you end up forgetting things.

On a good day everything went smoothly but the plan was always changing and it felt like there was no structure for most of the year it was just going with the flow which was stressful at times. When you get to base no one will have been notified of your arrival so you end up running around trying to find someone who might know your actually supposed to be there.

In the first year you receive a huge amount of support whenever you require it, they are very understanding and comforting but also give you a necessary reality check. In the second year it feels less supportive as pretty much everyone on base have a "suck it up and get on with it" mentality which can make you feel quite uneasy at times.

At the academy in the first year you get all the support you need but in the second year it becomes a bit more difficult to get in contact face to face with the people you need to speak to. My stand in team leader talks to me about what jobs i want to do for my qualification which is good.

It has allowed me to perform a lot better than if i wasnt trained properly. it allows me to be more confident when working on aircraft knowing what to do and what not to do. it has also taught me some tricks of the trade to make life easier too

There is none at all for BAE workers. it would be a good idea to implement something though. we have a ping pong table in the break room at the academy, this could allow tournaments to take place. RAF have a football team on base but im not sure if BAE can be involved in that

Yes

It has a very large choice for development within the company. Once you get your qualification you can go to many different places within the company by either moving up the management chain or just moving to a different role relating to your qualification. The salary is also very good for the amount of time you are in your apprenticeship for.

In your interview if you reach that stage, talk about any engineering/maintenance experience you have been involved in, any teamwork examples and be confident when speaking as it hugely increases your chances of being accepted. Make sure you fully understand what role you are applying for and see if it appeases you.