Electrical Technical Engineer Apprentice Review

Within the apprenticeship, I have been continuously developing my knowledge and understanding of how an engineering business operates, along with advancing in my electrical understanding. This apprenticeship has so far, built on my knowledge of electrical circuitry massively. It has also developed my communication skills and my confidence skills. Overall, this apprenticeship provides an amazing opportunity for younger individuals to start off their career in a field that is changing and advancing daily. With the apprenticeship providing them knowledge that will be useful for a liftime.

While at BAE Systems, I have learned heaps of new skills. Being an electrical apprenticeship, my knowledge on electrical circuitry has advanced, my understanding on how to fault find electronic products has developed, along with reams of calculations and mathematical knowledge in the electronic field has advanced. Finally, my English has developed where that I am constantly communicating with individuals in the business and therefore my writing has improved along with my face to face communicating.

Although the apprenticeship is tough, and the workload and commitments required are high. It is no doubt worth it, you are in an apprenticeship to learn, and learn is exactly what you do. The quantities of information that is taken away from month to month within the apprenticeship has by far exceeded the amounts of information I had taken away in GCSEs or college. This knowledge learned is useful and practical as it directly relates to the workplace.

I feel the organisation and structure of the apprenticeship in the first year is great! You have a year at the training centre to learn and take in all of the necessary information about electrical circuits prior to coming into the company full time. I feel the organisation and structure of the second year is quite full-on. The workload required is quite high but most definitely achievable. Essentially, it is an apprenticeship where you have to commit your personal time to complete a large quantity of your college work.

There is a large amount of support received by the employer, and also employees. The company is a very welcoming one, where that the individuals on site act like a large team. If you know someone, that individual will welcome you to their team and it simply spirals out of control where that you know lots of really useful individuals where you can absorb as much of their knowledge as possible.

I feel the training provider is good at providing support, however can be bad at times. As an apprentice you are expected to follow a strict upload schedule to ensure you finish within the set term times, however, unfortunately evens occur where that you may possibly be delayed or out of this routine and schedule, and the training provider has not been very good at fixing the fallen schedule. This is an area that can be improved upon massively.

I feel the knowledge gained from the qualification thus far are very targeted for developing your skills and bettering yourself for the specific role. I believe that the qualification is extremaly useful to progress within my role, not only allowing me to provide significant support within the business, but also lays a useful foundation to grow and develop, allowing me to 'climb the ladder' and become a manager role in the future.

Yes, there are lots of social events that take place, and one extra-curricular activity that i am aware of is the football team that BAE have, they have a game every Thursday that you can join and take place in. There is also opportunities to get involved in fitness classes.

Yes

BAE is a company that provides lots of skills and knowledge on the way to correctly operate, and the correct rules and procedures that must be put in place. It provides you a strong grounding for your career and also provides adequate routing for you to stay within the company for life.

The best thing to do for those applying is to ask yourself if this is the correct field that you are applying for. Do you have the time and patience to learn after coming away from your background, and what are the alternative options. Finally, be yourself. There is nothing more obvious than someone who is trying to impress, and although nothing is bad about that, someone who shows genuine, natural interest and is keen to learn leaves a lasting impression. They are the memorable individuals.