Supply Chain Practitioner Apprentice Review

Over 4 different placements I've gained a good understanding of the different areas within the companies supply chain. My current role has been within production planning where I have gained an understanding of the back ground work that goes into monitoring and ensuring the supply chain continues to function.

I have learnt many different new skills throughout my time on the apprenticeship. As well as learning key business terminology such as forecasting, demand management and orderbook management. I also developed other skills such as time management and customer management which not only applies in my role as well as other tasks in life.

Throughout my time in the company I have had a good mix of both college work shops with course work as well as real life experience in a real life job role I would definitely say I have enjoyed my time on the apprenticeship as well as picking up skills I can take forward afterwards.

Throughout the apprenticeship, we have found the organisation of the scheme to be quite challenging at times. A good example of this is the last minute nature of finding our next placements out with 7 days notice until we changed. Our placements last 6 months and different teams may lead to new commitments the short notice we were given wasn't ideal. Our college provider is external to the company unlike many other schemes. This had lead to some issues with a breakdown in communication between the different areas in the past.

Support is always available for whatever issues we may be having. Our placement managers always do their best to help us understand the area and the workload we may take on. Although we have had a few different college tutors throughout the programme, our current one is always available to offer support for the course work. Our early careers department also work hard to help answer any issues we face.

Throughout the apprenticeship we have had a few different tutors who have presented the training to us. We have found that each different tutor has offered us a different level of support. With our initial one we found gaining helpful feedback in a timely fashion to be quite difficult. However, with our current tutor we have seen improvements made to move towards correcting the issue.

Although our college course covers many of the same topics which may come up in our roles, the course covers it in a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) environment. FMCG are typically things like drinks manufacture where a high volume is completed each day. This doesn't really match the business which means some of the info doesn't apply to us.

There are plenty of events to get involved with outside of work, some are arranged by the company and others by certain apprentices and colleagues. We are regularly given the opportunity to help out at open evenings for the recruitments of new apprentices. There are also some social events such as meals out with teams and apprentices which are good experiences.

Yes

BAE Systems is a great place to work at for anyone. I would say whatever skill set someone has there is a role available for everyone to enjoy. The opportunities available to work abroad in the future are exciting. As well as the chances to try new roles down the line to further our skill sets.

I would recommend them to get an understanding of what they would like to accomplish while working at BAE. From there they can identify roles which they may find interesting and want to peruse further. I would also recommend they get an understanding of the company which may help them in the recruitment process.