Level 6 Engineering Technician Review

On a day-to-day basis, we work off a 4 week rotation of activities. In my first year, we are down in the apprentice workshop 3 days per week, learning Electronics, electrics, PLC's (programmable Logic Controllers), business improvement, mechanical & mechatronics, hand fitting (Filing, cutting, measuring metalwork), welding, machining (Milling & turning) and fluid power. On Mondays, we have an independent study day upstairs, where we can catch up on work and do general admin. Workshop is on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (Half day). On Thursday, we have a College/University day, in the apprentice training school where we do 3 modules per semester.

Yes, both in and outside of Engineering. We have learnt lots of practical skills via hands on teaching in the workshop, which helps most people get the most out of it, compared to purely theoretical. The first year is a good mix of recap from my A-Levels (Maths, Product design & business), as well as building to higher level skills, both in the workshop and in the college modules. Outside of engineering, my professional skills have been improved from being in the BMW Group environment. I have also learnt discipline from having set work times to stick to, as well as the responsibility of keeping up with assignments, exams & keeping organised.

I do very much enjoy this degree apprenticeship programme. The first year teaches lots of practical, actually useful life skills. It is also amazing to work in such a company that is so global and has many opportunities later down the line. We occasionally get to see the inside of the factory where MINI's are made, which will be very helpful for us in the 2nd, 3rd & 4th years, where we go onto placement out into different parts of the factory. Our year group is also social, and we all get on generally very well together, having one consistent interest in automotive engineering. This helps to make the experience more enjoyable.

There are two sides to this apprenticeship, especially in the first year; the BMW side and the Birmingham Metropolitan College side. From BMW, it is generally very well organised. We know what the general structure is of the apprenticeship, and there is a whole apprentice management team, which we have a meeting with most weeks to see how we are getting on. From Birmingham Metropolitan college, there can sometimes be a lack of structure and organisation, such as last minute meetings (Lack of communication) or teachers being absent for extended periods of time without much of a contingency plan. Feedback on assignments and exams can also take longer than I think it should sometimes.

I receive lots of support from BMW Group, as mentioned earlier the weekly meetings between our small group of Engineering Technicians where we can talk about how the week has gone, and bring up any concerns, as well as get an update on both MINI and the wider BMW Group. We have 3 monthly reviews with BMW, to update them more in depth on our progress. Throughout the whole 4 years, we are allocated an apprentice manager, which no matter where in the business our rotations or placements are, we can still have a point of contact with them, which is very important in my opinion.

We have 3 monthly reviews with Birmingham Metropolitan College, in which we re-visit what we have done in the past quarter and give the training provider an update on how we are doing. The teachers we have are generally available to help us if we have questions, but there can sometimes be a disconnect between the assignment briefs and what the teachers are teaching us, which can be very challenging. This has been brought up to a vice-president of Birmingham Metropolitan, but this has yet to have any action taken. The workshop teachers (Also BMET), are generally very educated on the topics we are learning, and have lots of practical experience. They also are enjoyable to be around, and understand our wants & needs. The equipment available to use in the workshop is very good, as the whole workshop has been recently had lots of investment and new equipment brought in, which greatly helps the experience.

I am still in the first year apprentice training school , so I have not been out into the parts of the factory/engineering department that my placements will be in yet, so I cannot be sure, but I believe that the first year thus far has given me a great improvement of my general understanding of engineering. This has been both by practical, hands on learning, as well as theoretical, where the teachers try as much as they can to link our work to the field of Automotive Engineering, especially one teacher that has decades of experience in manufacturing engineering, some in the automotive industry. The first year has been a very good 'soft launch' into BMW Group, and gave us more than enough time to get used to the professional environment, as well as the vast amount of BMW Group-specific websites, passwords, tools, buildings, working environment, department codes and general conduct. I believe this gives me an advantage over other routes, such a as university degree. I made the decision to go for this apprenticeship over a product design degree at Loughborough University, and I thoroughly believe I made the correct decision.

There are some extra-curricular activities that are available, but none of which I am currently part of. The first year is a fairly strict time-table, but in the later years, there seems to be more scope for other activities such as the charity team, OX4 Racing team and other networking events. We do however have some out of work social activities, mainly with the other level 6 Engineering Technicians. I do feel that we could be supported more in the creation of other extra-curricular activities. For instance, other Engineering Technicians and I suggested the idea of an event that we could enter in, as a group of apprentices under the company name, however this idea did not get the attention from the management team that we wished it had.

Yes

It is a global company with so much to offer, not just locally but internationally as well. Although it is such a huge company, I still feel supported and heard as an individual. Aside from that, it is a friendly and nice professional environment. The salary is also competitive, with regular increases to the salary based on specific criteria.

Do research on the plant that you're applying for, what models they produce and get some information on the history of the brand. Do not be too scared of the hiring staff, they are there to help and get the best out of you. Prepare for the questions that they may ask in an interview, and if you get through to the in-person interview stage then try to be as sociable and friendly to the other candidates, as they may well be the colleagues that you will be working with for the coming 4 years.