Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Apprentice Review

My job role involves removing and fitting bumpers. I also sand bumpers down ready for painting. The job role is incredibly monotonous and offers little in the way of personal achievement or room to improve. I have recently changed roles temporarily for a training plan with Fen End, however this is due to end in a year and I shall return with new skills that are not going to be utilised.

I have developed no skills, let alone new skills in regards to my home plant where I will be based, as the site only removes and fits trim, something that I had mastered in the first month of work. My current predicament is training me to be a vehicle technician, where I am learning many skills, but I am one of very few given this opportunity.

My program is somewhat enjoyable, but only because I have an interest in automotive engineering. I do not get to perform activities that were advertised as being available in my job role as most work has been outsourced, and now my site is simply a hub for painting vehicle trim.

My programme is extremely unstructured at my home site. Managers do not communicate and very little gets done, I have attempted to create a pathway through the business that would allow me to have learned new and relevant skills, however I was shut down and told I must perform a vehicle maintenance role instead of product development and testing.

I receive very little support from my employer, I have requested items such as laptops, as my peers have access to them, however I do not as it is not involved in my end job role, despite being in training for three years and needing constant access to a PC, sometimes on the move.

The qualifications in this apprenticeship are just that, the students are not taught to memorise information or become good working with what they are learning, and are instead taught to hit criteria in order to get a passing mark. Students that are being assessed by an external body are put under more stress and encouraged to give answers far beyond those that are not being assessed in an attempt to appease the external verifier.

My qualifications have little to no relation to my job role. Furthermore as previously mentioned, the 'skills' that are taught to us are not taught in a realistic way, with engine rigs being created simply to make the jobs much more easy, meaning that an involved cambelt timing job is finished in a matter of minutes, and is never tested. You are taught theory, but not realistically useful skills.

There recently has been a lot of extracurricular activities taking place for apprentices, and they have been made very accessible through the internal messaging app used, Teams. There are also extracurricular football games at my home plant every Friday after the morning shift. This allows you to get to know and have fun with your peers in a not too invasive way.

Yes

Honestly, it's because of the money, and at the level I will be when qualified, they pay extremely well, however if you want your opinion to be valued and to be taught at an industry leading level, JLR is not for you. I know apprentices that have ended up in roles they are very happy with, however most applied for a different experience than the one they received.

I would advise you to be cautious of the role they advertise to you- it's often the case that the role is not as explained or expected. I know apprentices that have also ended up in completely different roles mid way through their apprenticeship. I would also make sure you are happy working in shift patterns, as most of the business operates this way - 6am to 2pm, 2pm till 10pm and 10 till 6am.