Higher Apprentice Review

I work 4 days and do 1 day at college. I do 6 month placements in which I do engineering work related to the project that I am in. I spend 5% of my time doing extra curriculum development in other areas of the business and another 5% on training. At college, we study for a mechanical engineering degree.

I have learnt how to model function on a computer, different working styles, how to write documents, how to use different computer programmes and coding. I have developed my public speaking skills, my organisation, my Excel skills, how to work well in teams.

I have enjoyed most of my work inside of the company within my placements and in my extra curricular activities. However, the college side has been very poorly run. We have a revolving door of teachers at times as well as little support for those who need it to complete assignments, with feedback on them being minimal.

There is almost no communication between the college and BAE Systems on what days we are supposed to be in college, what we are studying and the support we need, so you are left in the dark most of the time. Placements are decided weeks before you are supposed to move to them, so it gives little time to get things ready.

There is little help from the company as a whole. There are communities to help out general and mental health (however there are a few hoops to jump through to get help regarding general health) but little support for apprentice related issues and almost no avenues to try and make these changes. For work related queries, most people are happy to set aside time to help you with your placement work and everyone is always friendly. There is also no help in helping relocate if you are moving to the area.

Similarly, the college has a lot of hoops you need to get through to get support. I have been requesting help for over a year and have still not had anything. Feedback on work is the bare minimum and has almost no beneficial value to guide you in what you need to add to improve it.

I have not had to use anything that I have learnt in my work as of yet. A lot of what is being taught has been either hands on skills (which I do not do at work) or had already been taught at a lower lever of education (A-Level and GCSE).

We have almost no extra-curricular activates or teams run by the company at the office. It is once again people doing it off their own backs. As an early careers team in the office, we run things for ourselves such as social nights or sports nights. As an office, we have an annual Christmas party and surfing trip in the summer which is always popular.

Yes

I would recommend BAE Systems to a friend for the array of career paths in the company and different sectors in the company. There is definitely something for everyone to enjoy and most people are extremely friendly. The company also lets you work on the most cutting edge technology around which is always interesting. And it would be nice to have a friend that I already know very well work in the same place that I do.

Research the company and look at the behaviours of the company. Try to link work you have done or experiences that you have had that show the behaviours. Have some out of the box questions to ask about the product or part of the company that you are going into or relate them to a current issue or something that is in the news. Learn a process (manufacturing, design, working, etc. It depends what role you are going into) and how a certain household object works and is manufactured and get it memorised. Lastly, just be yourself and show your personality in interviews. I know it is cliche, but it is what the interviewers look for most.