Technical Apprentice Review

My role covers a wide variety of different task and jobs to do. From testing equipment to designing products, to fault finding active units.

I have developed a large amount of electronic theory through work and how all of the departments work together on site. I have also learnt about day to day roles and how to integrate within each team I've been in.

I enjoy my programme a lot. I enjoy working onsite with a wider variety of different people and teams. i would prefer to learn all of the theory and skills on site whilst working within the business rather than at college but overall the programme has been good.

The structure overall is good, there are some ways that the structure can improve but this will come at a cost of other aspects. The only improvement i would have is to restructure the placements to all 12 week or all 6 week or to allow apprentices more choice to pick their second year placement.

The support regarding safeguarding, health and safety and general support is brilliant from my employer. Everyone within the business is very helpful and always welcoming to apprentices. From the training provider not so much.

The training provider, provide some resources to learn basics about electronics however students are often left to learn it for themselves whilst juggling completing assignments for these tasks. On site employees are more than happy to teach you about electronics if requested however the training provider is often falling behind on support compared to my employer.

My qualification will allow me to integrate smoothly within a permanent team on site and allow me to have the basics behind understanding of electronics. However a lot more learning has been completed on site through moving to different placements and by speaking to experienced engineers onsite who have a much wider range of knowledge and skillsets perfect for the work we do.

There are plenty of extra-curricular activities that you can complete on and off site. The for example are sports events like football, or charity hosted events like quizzes. Then there is the opportunity to sign up for careers fairs and other out of work networking events which are all good.

Yes

I believe that BAE Systems is a good place to work and the onsite culture around work is very positive. It is a diverse and inclusive workplace and is a welcoming place to work. The work is challenging and is good to learn and work on and the apprenticeship adds to working all around site to learn new skillsets.

Look into company behaviours and what the company does, and see how you apply to these behaviours to see how you would fit in. Be flexible to learn, hardworking and have a positive attitude to work.