Maintenance Apprentice Review

As a maintenance apprentice, I shadow the rest of the team to help with breakdowns of the press line I work on or any machinery that breaks. I do preventative maintenance tasks such as visual and measurement checks to ensure equipment is in good condition and free from contamination and debris.

At the BMW group, I have been put on lots of training courses so far which has broadened my skill set range within work that I can apply to my job such as scissor lift training, crane training, working at height training, confined space, KUKA robot training and Siemens PLC training.

I thoroughly enjoy my program as I have a very good support system at work and the team of people I work with in my department are all very welcoming and helpful. I get responsibility where I am comfortable to do breakdowns and maintenance tasks by myself and once stuck, I can ask for help which is the best way for me to learn.

The program is structured in a way where the entire year is planned out on a timeline so we all know which department we will be working in throughout the 4 year apprenticeship. This is nice as we know who we will be working with at different times and the support from the apprentice manager is great if anything needs to be adjusted.

My apprentice manager is very supportive with any problems I encounter during the program such as time scales, work issues, people problems or personal issues. There is also lots of support from the department managers you work in as everyone within the Swindon plant is very friendly and treats everyone as a family which is comforting.

The support from the training provider themselves are okay and will attempt to solve issues but are not always successful or can be forgotten about. However, the support from the BMW group is good as they stand up for us and raise issues further if any thing is not solved successfully.

I believe that the qualifications I am working towards are beneficial to my job role and I do use a range of skills and knowledge that I have learnt within college and the workplace within the day-to-day role. Learning about projects and design is a good unit to learn about however it is not something that I use daily.

The BMW group have apprentice groups such as the charity champions and the apprentice SharePoint team organize events throughout the year such as Christmas charity parties, children in need fancy dress, cake sales, raffles and quizzes. Once comfortable within the departments and you get to know more people, events out of work such as retirement parties and birthday events are nice to attend.

Yes

The BMW group as a company is a very stable, welcoming and supportive organization to work for. For my age, I am earning a very good salary for the job role I am in and for getting paid while getting both an education and experience all in just one program.

The apprentice managers want to recruit you for the real you, not someone you think they want. Be true to yourself and be patient, the recruitment process is long and takes time to go through so many applicants. Do not get put off or drop out before we are able to invite you into see you, do not miss out on the massive opportunity that this apprenticeship can offer.