Apprentice Review

I am a designer, my Day to day role would be in the office on a computer working on various softwares like teamcenter and foran on these I will be designing equipment or structure for the submarine and placing it in the appropriate area, this also then requires a drawing to be done and sent to the shop floor where they can manufacture it

I have developed my skills on the computer as I have been working on new softwares. I also am doing a HNC and in this I am developing my knowledge of design, maths, mechanical principles and business. These skills play a role in my job and let me have a background knowledge

I enjoy being on this programme as I have always liked work with computers and now I get to do this in a job and work on softwares that I haven’t previously used so it is also a learning experience which I enjoy aswell. I would recommend this programme to anyone

The programme is well structured. For me I did a year at college to begin with where I learnt some background stuff before going into the offices and gained a level 3 engineering. I am now in the office and taking part in the optional HNC which further develops what I know. The apprenticeship lasts 3.5 years and is well structured out during that time

I receive a lot of support from my employer. We have catch up meetings and 12 weekly reviews with our initial point of contacts and then also the support from teams I’ve worked on has been really good as well everyone is friendly and willing to help with anything

Furness college was good in my first year there we finished the course early and had time to spend the rest of the year revising for exams that took place in them and any assignments to get our overall grade. HNC is now also coming towards exams and we have revison lessons where the teachers are willing to help with any questions big or small

Our qualifications help towards learning background knowledge for example in business and health and safety. But also some teams are engineering teams which require us to know about maths and mechanical principles so the lessons in these are really useful for when we are on these teams so we know what equations to be using etc

There is stem activities to get involved in, you become a stem ambassador and get to go into schools or libraries and teach/host sessions for the children who participate. There are also chances to go on the apprentice council which help with all apprentices in BAE and these have regular meetings to discuss how things are

Yes

They offer a wide range of apprenticeships at all levels and they teach you skills that you might not be able to get taught in colleges around your area. The staff are all helpful and teach you further skills from watching them/ asking them questions that you might not get from the basic training

I would suggest that you look into every apprenticeship that they offer and choose the one you think is most suited to you. Do research about the company and the apprenticeship you have chosen so you know what you’re applying for and read into what qualifications you need so you know if you are suitable for that apprenticeship