Manufacturing Engineering Technician Review

I will come to work at about 8am, log into my computer and check my emails. After that, I complete various tasks throughout the day. These tasks might involve going down onto the shop floor to look at a job, take measurements, take pictures or to talk to operators. I will then head back up to the office to use the information I have just found to input into various computer systems.

Throughout my apprenticeship I have learnt lots of skills and developed existing ones. In my first year we went on the Outward Bound course at Ullswater, I had already done all of the activities through scouting however this experience definitely improved my team working and interpersonal skills. I have also learnt lots of new computer software's when moving through my different placements.

When I was applying for this apprenticeship, it was made out to sound a lot more practical than I have experienced; this was also evident in the open days. Choosing this apprenticeship rather than the more practical craft role has caused me to not enjoy my programme as much as I should have done. Some aspects are enjoyable but working in an office is definitely not for me.

My programme is well structured with regards to having a pathway of how my apprenticeship will progress. However, it is extremely unorganised. For the majority of my placements I only find out where I am going a week before; when I get to that placement the first month is almost always wasted with sorting out building and computer access. It could definitely be improved by doing things more in advance.

If you ask for support then you will get it. In my first year I suspected I had dyslexia so I requested a test from work and they brought in an external dyslexia expert to test me for it and it turned out I did have it. I now have a monthly meeting to talk about any additional support I require with regards to my learning difficulty which has been really helpful.

Throughout my apprenticeship we have been bounced back and forth between various training providers which hasn't been at all beneficial to my learning. My first, second and third years have all been delivered by different providers who haven't communicated what they have individually covered so we have repeated certain subjects up to three times now. The training providers support was minimal.

In my days at college I have covered health and safety, electronics, hydraulics, materials, maths, communications, design, mechanical principles and organisational efficiency. To be honest, in my day to day placements I haven't found any of this particularly useful. What we learn in college could definitely be better tailored to our business in particular and the job roles we might end up in.

Yes. In my first year we went to the World Skills UK event in Birmingham to walk around and see the best of all the trades competing in the event; BAE Systems sponsored this event. There are football events, charity events, a hiking club etc. Individual teams might have Christmas parties or retirement do's. I am a keen rock climber; I'm not aware of a company climbing club however I have met likeminded people through work with whom I can go climbing with.

Yes

BAE Systems is a company who will look after you as an apprentice. The apprenticeships are structured and you will almost definitely be guaranteed a job after you have come out of your time as an apprentice. They pay a good competitive salary well over the national apprentice wage with yearly pay rises.

Make sure you know exactly what you are applying for by attending the open events to see the facilities and talk to as many current apprentices as you can to get a better understanding of the schemes; ask them about the difference between a craft and technician apprenticeship (THIS IS IMPORTANT). Even though the first year of a technician apprenticeship is practical the rest of it is not.