Controls Apprenticeship Review

On a day to day basis - the role is involved in maintenance activities (both preventative and reactive), as well as making improvements to systems. electrical, mechanical and controls aspects are covered. balancing between the job role and university work is needed as in the final year both of these work loads increase dramatically.

I have learnt many new skills over the course of this apprenticeship such as PLC programming on both step7 and TIA, electrical system and pneumatic circuit design, CAD for 3d printing, electrical and mechanical maintenance, condition monitoring, control theory, measurement systems and developed existing skills such as the use of Microsoft office to different applications

I would say that I enjoy the program as it has helped develop me greatly and I enjoy being involved in value adding experiences, however sometimes you find yourself waiting for a while to get involved in such jobs and are often involved in jobs where you won't learn as much. the placement structure wasn't the best either and sometimes it felt there wasn't direction.

As mentioned in the previous question, sometimes the program is unorganised and without structure. In terms of the education to work experience split, the structure is good and the required time for studying is there. the placement structure at work was somewhat unorganised and also without structure, not taking in to consideration the type of apprenticeship being undertaken by the apprentice.

The employer gives the day release for university and also provides support within the business such as allocating a mentor. The only problem with this is that depending on who your mentor is can significantly impact your learning experience and acceleration at the beginning of the apprenticeship as not all mentors are as supportive as others.

BCU has provided great support in comparison to BMet and generally solved any issues that were raised with no issue. Some tutors were better than others, however the experience as a whole has been good so far. The level of learning at BCU has improved significantly compared to being at Bmet.

I feel that the qualification can help the job role with the concepts learnt as control theory and understanding of electrical / electronic principles is useful, as well as programming methodologies and fundamentals. understanding of electronic components can be useful for some bespoke stations, knowledge of comms and networking may be useful in the future.

There are no company events or activities that occur as far as I am aware of. I know that some friendship groups at work do arrange to meet up socially outside of work for different activities such as football or mountain biking, but nothing arranged by the company itself in this regard.

Yes

I would recommend BMW group to a friend as if you wanted to undertake this degree, it is better than doing the traditional route of university stand alone as there will be no debt and you will gain some experience over the years and also be getting paid while doing so.

I would say to consider what experiences you have done when writing your cv and try to get different experiences before applying, as well as working and not just focusing on aspects such as A-level grades; it is important to be able to integrate into the work enviroment and have a good work ethic.