Aircraft maintenance apprentice Review

During my apprenticeship I spent one year training in ICAT Cardiff working towards my A licence and city and guilds. Then move to different locations working on different aircraft where I on job train to become a maintenance technician. I gain hands on experience on aircraft whilst doing an NVQ level 3 on the side.

I have learned many new skills. I have developed many hand skills which will be imperative to be a qualified aircraft technician. Not only has it taught me how to do the job I am training for it has also helped with life skills such as living away from home and managing money. I have also improved my communication skills.

I enjoy my programme thoroughly, I have made many new connections in the industry as well as many life long friends. I also enjoy the places of work I have been too and find myself really involved in all the teams I have worked with. Moving away from home has also been enjoyable where I have been living with my fellow apprentices.

The apprenticeship feels very structured with being very informative with what opportunities we will have in the future. There is a set plan of 1 year rotary and 1 year fixed wing. During on job training you are given mentors to help you learn the role. There is many types of training you must do before you are able to work on these sites, these are given to us before so we are able to start the new role as soon as possible.

We have an apprentice manager who is really helpful, she will always be in our Corner and any problems we have she will do her best to help us with them. We are visited by our support team monthly at minimum. We also have calls with higher management to talk to us about up and coming opportunities in the company and are supported through them.

Our training provider at ALS visit us once a month where we can ask any questions towards our nvq. However we are also able to text any time with queries which can be resolved if you don’t want to wait. They seem to mark work we give them at a suitable rate of time and give good feedback.

The qualification through my training provider helps me through my apprenticeship by setting me criteria to tick off. This criteria makes me look for jobs to do which will claim for this criteria allowing me to be a more rounded technician. The people who visit us from als are also from the industry and are very informative so help us with stuff if we do not understand

There are many professional networking events to get involved with. Boeing is a big advocate on STEM. As apprentices we get very involved in stem activities at places like schools and career fairs. We have also been to air shows to promote apprenticeships in stem. At these events we have shown young kids on what they are able to do to get into this side of the industry

Yes

Joining this apprenticeship was one of the best decisions I made. When I was younger I did not want to go to university and was unsure what I wanted to do with my life. Joining this apprenticeship has helped me see a path I would like to follow. It is also a way I have found works better for me to learn as I am more hands on.

If you have finished college and have a strong interest in engineering I would recommend applying. You do not need to have experience in aircraft as it all can be thought. If you were to apply I suggest you be keen on learning new skills and be open to moving around the country experiencing different environments.