Control Engineering Review

On a daily basis, I work with a variety of departments on the plant. These include working with Maintenance, Control engineers and Planners. Typical activities include working with various engineering equipment such as pneumatics components, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), mechanical equipment and software such as Siemens TIA portal. Training courses are also provided on a fairly regular basis which I find very useful to further enhance my skills and knowledge for the job.

Throughout my apprenticeship, I have developed many new skills such as fault finding on both mechanical and electrical components and circuits, machining including milling, hand fitting and turning on the lathe. In addition to technical skills, I have further developed my soft skills such as time management, presenting, teamwork and report writing.

I enjoy my apprenticeship greatly because there are many opportunities available with BMW to improve my skills, learn new ones, and working with a variety of departments allows me to develop my insight and knowledge of the industry. I feel the apprenticeship is excellent in this regard and, in addition to qualifications, it helps me develop and progress my career.

Overall, the programme is well structured for the 4 years and there is a natural progression path from one year to the next. The first year is spent purely in the training school completing the engineering diploma and BTEC which includes developing technical, practical engineering skills and the theory behind engineering including maths, electrical, controls and physics topics. The second and third years are spent rotating between the plant technologies (Body-in-white, Paint and Assembly) and an opportunity to spend a placement at another plant outside oxford.

The employer provides me with plenty of support throughout the apprenticeship and reviews are held every three months with the apprentice training manager to check progress and flag any concerns. However, the managers are always approachable and friendly so any concerns can be addressed to them before the review meetings. Training courses are provided regularly to support with work and career development.

The training provider gives a good amount of support and the tutors are approachable with any academic and course issues. They have a structure in place and if there are any issues with assignments or exams, they do their best to assist to ensure you have the best chance to complete the courses.

The qualifications have helped in performing better in my role because, once I learn about certain topics during the course, I can apply them straight away in my work or at least see them applied in an industrial setting. This is the main advantage of doing the apprenticeship. Some topics are more applicable in my work than others but the qualification provides a good overview of engineering.

There is a good number of apprentices and interns on site so extra-curricular activities are varied and widely available including charity work, sports events, working with and supporting local schools and colleges and social events such as quizzes. You also have the option to do more technical extra-curricular activities such as web design and programming.

Yes

BMW is a global company and there are many opportunities to develop your career and also branch out to other areas that may interest you. There are opportunities to do placements and work abroad as well. There are very few companies that can provide the same amount of opportunities and support as BMW can.

The best advice I can provide is to be very interested in the apprenticeship you apply for and conduct plenty of research into the industry, BMW and your chosen role. Also, you should think about how you plan to develop your career and how the apprenticeship and BMW can help you with it. These will be very helpful when applying and in your interviews.