Engineering Apprentice Review

4 out of 5 days a week, I am at the Airport working on whichever section I am placed on at that moment. There are a variety of sections we can move around on which include Airfield, HVAC, Specialist Systems, Baggage, Shuttles and LSCA. Each department offers a variety of work, ranging from mechanical to electrical to controls. Each day I go into work knowing there will be something different to do. There will always be routine maintenances to carry out, which are good learning opportunities and a good chance to get to know and understand a system, but it is also a very reactive job where you react to any faults that get called in, so there are always interesting opportunities to learn new things and get hands on. One day a week, I have a college day. This is where I go to college and have a few lessons that allow me to complete my qualifications and learn about content that relates to what I am doing in the workplace and helps me understand what I do at work more.

I've learnt and developed many skills across the course of my apprenticeship so far. My first year at college allowed for me to build upon knowledge I already had in certain areas of the course, but it also allowed me to learn many new things and allowed me to learn how to use machinery, such as a Lathe and a Milling machine. It also let me build upon my practical skills, as we did hand fitting and welding. At the workplace, I have learnt and developed a range of skills. These skills include my practical skills and being hands on. When at the workplace, you get the opportunity to help with projects and maintenances and faults that come up, so it allows you to get very hands on and help improve your use of hand tools and other tools. This apprenticeship also helps develop skills such as communication and teamwork due to the fact you will work with a lot of different people when you are moving around departments and you will also be working alongside other apprentices.

I greatly enjoy my apprenticeship program. I enjoy the practical work at the work place and I find moving around the different departments a good opportunity that is very interesting and one that allows me to learn about many different aspects of the airport. The theory work we have to complete to gain out qualifications is interesting too, and once at the airport, it is interesting to see how the theory is applied in the workplace. I also enjoy meeting different people on each section, as everyone has a different strength and can tell you about different systems or machines. I also get the opportunity to participate in a variety of projects, including projects with my fellow apprentices, which allows me to improve on skills but is also a good way to do team building with other people.

My Apprenticeship is very well structured. It is a 4 year programme and we know from the start what each of the 4 years will consist of, what the college work will be like and what kind of hours and shifts we will be working. Everything we do at college has been chosen to help support our work in the workplace. It is also well structured because we know in advance when we are moving departments and what shifts we will be on, etc. Everything is well communicated to us from our employer so we know what is expected of us and when things have to be done by.

I receive the support I need from my employer, and more. As apprentices, we get a lot of support, this includes support with college work and any help we may need completing it, but also includes ordering and providing us with anything we may need for college or work, such as parts and equipment or uniform. They also provide us with software, such as CAD, that we need for college and other projects. We also have regular meetings where we are able to talk about any issues we may have and we can then get help to resolve them and ask for guidance if needed. Gatwick also has a mentorship scheme where every apprentice has a mentor. The mentor is there to support you and is someone you can talk to if you need any guidance and are there if you need to talk to someone about something.

We have regular review with our college and employer where we get helpful feedback from our lecturers and assessors on the work we are completing. They give us help and guidance on how to complete our assignments and qualifications at the highest possible standard. If we need any support or have any issues with the work or college, we can go to our lecturers or assessors for help or guidance on what to do and they will provide support where needed.

The qualifications I have been studying for at college have greatly helped me perform better in my role and understand the work that I do better. The practical work that I carried out at college helped me improve my practical skills and made me more confident when using hand tools, which has helped when at work. The theory work that we did for our qualifications has helped me gain a better understanding of the work that I carry out in the workplace. We complete lessons such as Three phase, mechanical principles and electrical principles, all which greatly relate to what we do at work. Having an understanding of these kind of subjects allows me to complete my work better as I understand how the systems work too rather than just how to fix or maintain them.

There are lots of different projects we can get involved with at work that can be worked on with other apprentices or technicians or other people from around the airport. As apprentices, we also get the chance to go on a trip called Outward Bounds once a year, where we spend time with the other apprentices and spend time doing lots of team building and do a variety of activities, such as hiking, canoeing, abseiling, etc. As apprentices, we also get the opportunity to get involved with lots of different STEM events where we go to lots of different schools and colleges and teach people about STEM and specifically Engineering and encourage people to get involved with STEM and get them involved using different fun activities.

Yes

Gatwick offers a variety of work for apprentices with being able to move around the different sections. Being able to move around allows you to experience so many different types of work and you get to learn about many different systems, so it is always interesting. Gatwick is also very supportive and will help you with anything you need and will give you any guidance or help with any problems at work that you may have.

If you know that engineering is the field that you want to go in to, this is the apprenticeship to go for! Be yourself when applying and show that you've got a passion for engineering. There is a fairly large amount of college work, so make sure to keep in mind that you will still be doing college work whilst working at the airport. Don't be afraid to go for it and the most important part is showing why you want this apprenticeship, so answer any questions you're asked how you would, not how you think they want it to be answered.