Apprentice Review

My role at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars entails, carrying out placements within the Interior Trim Centre (Leathershop) across my 3 year course. Having had exposure and experience within areas such as: Cutting, Sewing, Covering, Seat Build - Quality, Planning and Developmental departments. To accompany work based placements, I also attend College twice a week to do a LVL 3 Upholstery Course.

Before I joined the Apprenticeship I had a range of practical skills but one I did not have specifically... was how to sew. Having the exposure to a Manufacturing production line upon industrial sewing machine and within College utilizing domestic (manual & computerized) sewing machines really encouraged and developed my skills set that I didn't know I had. Not only have I expanded and developed my practical skills sets, I also feel as though I have grown in my confidence. You can't teach someone how to deal with people but you can put them in situations where they need to push themselves and RRMC has really allowed me to do this.

I love the people I work with, you can make life long connections with people, particularly upon doing an Apprenticeship with like-minded people. I also enjoy the fact of how hands on my role is, practically wise and the level of responsibility that you are entrusted with across the duration of your apprenticeship.

My Apprenticeship has been well structured and planned from my first day. Upon starting we were given a sort of timetable which spanned the whole year of what zone we would be in and for how long. Each area had a tailored time length for how in-depth the learning was in the particular area. It can be daunting being an apprentice and not having an exact day-to-day plan so having this scheduling in place allowed me to feel organized and on top of things.

We have been allocated our own laptops to be able to do our assignments, when and where needed. During the course of my time on the apprenticeship I have also been allocated a mentor within work, which changes yearly, as a port of call, to touch base with and get any advice should it be required. I'm also fortunate enough to have great Apprentice Leaders within the Interior Trim Centre, who are there to support at anytime.

I attend College two days per week and within these days I have two different tutors who can provide different skill sets/knowledge basis's which helps to expose me to different horizons practically. I get support from both work and College levels

With doing a Furniture Upholstery Course I have been able to experience a diverse range of materials which with a view to the future of development concepts is hugely beneficial to me and my role within the work place, directly in terms of characteristics and behaviors of utilizing a vast range of fabrics/materials

I myself have attended talks within schools to expose local kids to the Apprenticeship scheme we have to offer, we also support a local school with a 'Go Kart Project' which we are able to get involved with. I am also aware there are Team sports clubs to attend such as Racket sports, Rugby and much more.

Yes

The world is your Oyster within RRMC should you put the time and effort in. You are able to be exposed to so many areas/factors which you wouldn't necessarily get the opportunity for in most work places. For someone like me who hasn't got a degree and at a lot of points didn't know what way I wanted my career to go, I couldn't have asked for a better platform for career opportunity's as Rolls Royce Motor Cars.

Go for it, you have nothing to lose, only to gain from doing an Apprenticeship, particularly at the most renowned Motor Car Company in the world. We are so lucky to have this company on our doorstep which can open so many doors, learning and earning a wage at the same time to develop yourself is a blessing!