Engineering Degree Apprentice (Aero) Review

Defence Equipment and Support - provide a great deal of support to front line squadrons to ensure equipment is safe to operate. Day to day tasks to ensure this is the case include receiving fault reports from squadrons, communicating with the equipments design organisation and producing rectification strategies for the issues.

Clear communication is key when working with such a range of stakeholders. My placements have significantly developed my skills in doing this. Thinking critically is also necessary to ensure all potential issues have been accounted for which I have also improved upon. Finally, writing succinct engineering reports is also a highly transferable skill which I have got better at through my work.

A degree apprenticeship requires a lot of work to complete, arguably greater than a conventional degree. This therefore means there can be stressful times whilst completing it. However, in exchange for a funded degree and years of experience working in industry I believe it is worthwhile. There are opportunities to experience a very wide range of teams through placements which also makes the programme enjoyable.

Arranging university commitments alongside work can be challenging but on the whole this is managed adequately by the apprenticeship management . The completion of the national vocational qualification provides direction to the work completed in placements and ensures it is appropriate. The use of one day per week for university study means I can properly integrate into placement teams for the other four.

Placement teams are usually supportive of apprentices and are on hand to help with any issues encountered. In addition to this the overall apprenticeship management team can also support apprentices with issues. This means I would never feel unsure of what to do shoukd I require support for both work or personal issues.

The nature of the apprenticeship is that cohorts are significantly smaller than that of a university cohort. This means lectures are easily accessible to provide support. Similarly being allocated an assessor for the completion of the vocational qualifications means they are always on hand to give direction if and when needed.

The national vocational qualification gives direction as to the skills and behaviours I shoukd be gaining experience in during placements. This gives direction to shortfalls I should work on. My degree studies provide useful information on how aircraft work which I carry through to a variety of my day to day tasks.

The apprenticeship is lacking in properly organised social events. Whilst there are opportunities to network with others it is generally in a more formal work based context. This means connections with apprentices outside of your intake year can be highly limited. Connections with other years would significantly improve knowledge of placements on offer.

Yes

Defence Equipment and Support degree apprenticeships allow a range of experience to be gained through seven placement opportunities in a range of different teams. This allows apprentices to find an area of particular interest in which they can focus on for future career development. The skills gained in placements are highly transferable which provides a good baseline to build on throughout a career

This apprenticeship requires a high work rate to successfully complete. Be aware that the nature of DE and S means that the engineering work completed is rarely hands on so if this is a desire of yours this apprenticeship is probably unsuitable for you. A solid knowledge of maths (likely an A Level) will make university work significantly easier, so if you do not have this be aware the degree may be much harder to complete.