Chartered Management Degree Apprentice Review

This apprenticeship involves placements which can last between 6-9 months, therefore I have had numerous roles in Business functions such as HR, IT, and Procurement. My roles have always involved admin tasks in order to gain an understanding of particular business processes but also strong elements of stakeholder engagement both internal and external to the business. I have gained experience in supplier management, worked on contractual agreements, worked on projects, lead on business change activity just to name a few tasks. Different placements offer differing experiences therefore I have been able to learn what areas of the business I'd like to consider a career in, but also where I don't want to apply for jobs. I think this is the beauty of moving around into a number of roles.

My personal confidence has improved hugely. I have sat in roles where I have been stretched outside of my comfort zone and received feedback to help to aid in my development. I have become much more IT literate, something I needed to improve on - now it is second nature! Additionally, each role has enabled me to learn something new, skills such as stakeholder management, managing workload, prioritisation of time. These skills come with the job and are something that you can master over the duration of any degree apprenticeship.

There are plenty of opportunities within BAE Systems to explore new elements of the business. Therefore, I enjoy my programme as I know that I have the opportunity to constantly learn something new and am not stuck in one role for a log period of time. I enjoy university and our 'day release' to study. The further into the apprenticeship I have got, the more relatable my university modules have been to the workplace.

My programme is well structured from an education perspective, university modules are structured around the standards you have to meet to become 'chartered' at the end of the 4 years. My placements within the workplace are also created and structured around specific learning requirements therefore all areas of the chartership are covered.

BAE Systems have an early careers function in place to support the development of its apprentices, therefore the support I receive from my employer is extremely good. Safeguarding issues are dealt with right away, support mechanisms are in place to help you cope with university workload and a full-time role along with helpful managers. Early careers help to communicate to different placement managers what is required of us as apprentices and support placement managers in creating roles that are enriching.

UCLan are extremely supportive towards succeeding in my qualifications. We have weekly university sessions whereby all module content is covered and there are always assignment support sessions scheduled into each semester to help allow students time to study and write their assignments. Even throughout the pandemic, the support from university was always there and my lecturers were only a Teams call away if I need advice on assignments.

At first, I couldn't understand how my degree related to the workplace. However, now that I am further along with my apprenticeship I have been able to relate my teaching to my day-to-day workload. The course covers different areas of business management such as finance, operations management, and strategy but also covers areas of personal development such as ethical leadership where we are to assess out own leadership styles based on experience in the workplace.

Yes. There are numerous employee resource groups that you can become a part of which host networking sessions (mostly online), however more recently these have been held face-to-face. There are apprentice awards ceremonies, sports teams at particular BAE sites and a BAE Systems National Apprentice Council who organise and facilitate events during NAW too.

Yes

It is a huge organisation but has an extremely supportive and structured approach to delivering apprenticeships. The company believes in apprentices to develop the future workforce and I have always felt that I have been supported in all of my career aspirations so far. It has a global reach with international opportunities and a huge push for improving the workforce from a diversity perspective.

When applying and interviewing, I would always relate your skills to real life examples of displaying these skills. The more examples the better, and I found that researching the company beforehand really helped. I was able to cite the company values in my interview and they supported a task that I had to complete on my assessment day. Think outside of the box where possible, what do you have that other candidates don't? However, if it is your first time or fifth time applying; my advice it always to go for it. I am so grateful to work for BAE Systems and have got my career off to an amazing start.