Cost Engineer Degree Apprenticeship

About me

My name is Tomiwa Onigbanjo and I am a current Cost Engineer Apprentice at Bentley Motors. I’m from Hackney a small borough in East London and I like football, cars, cooking, programming, sneakers and going to the gym among other things! Before starting at Bentley I took the traditional education route of doing GCSEs and then sitting my A-Levels.

Since Year 9, going to university already wasn’t an option so I already had my mind set on doing a degree apprenticeship. My motivations for applying at Bentley were simple really: I like cars and I like technology, so when the opportunity to combine both passions arose in the form of a degree apprenticeship, it was a no brainer. That and the prestigious reputation that Bentley has, made it very clear to me that this would be a great place to work at and build towards my career goals and aspirations! Since I wasn’t from Crewe, my team did a lot to help me by ensuring I had somewhere to stay before I started. The Early Careers Team also placed all the incoming apprentices into a group chat so we could all communicate and try to set up accommodation with each other if we wanted to. They also sent us a welcome pack that included lots of links for sites that potential accommodation could be found on.

My top tips for applying to an apprenticeship at Bentley:

For Bentley in particular, I would advise having a look at the company website. Familiarise yourself with some of the initiatives we have been a part of and/or are currently a part of, and look to use those in your application. Look to align any examples you use of yourself with the company behaviours. Doing both of these will go a long way to show a genuine sense of interest in the role as it showcases that you’ve gone out of your way to do some research.

I would also recommend that you really take your time on your application- I know applying for apprenticeships can be tedious since you have to reach out to so many companies but taking the time to create a high-quality application will really set you apart from other candidates.

My interview tips:

Your interview should feel like a conversation. The interviewers will understand that, for a lot of you, this will be the first formal interview you’ve ever done so don’t worry about messing up, we’re all human! Having said that if you fail to prepare, you will by default feel a lot more anxious on the day, so make sure to have all materials prepared a few days prior to the interview so you can practice the delivery. Remember to ask questions! As much as you’re being interviewed, you’re also interviewing Bentley to see if it’s the right fit for you and if it isn’t that’s okay but you won’t know if you don’t ask. It also shows a genuine interest in the company which will only score more points for you with your interviewer.

What was my interview like?

My interview was centred primarily around 3 things: my 2 years of work experience (only 2 weeks of that was industry based), programming projects and my reselling business. It helped that I took things from my day to day life, that I didn’t think a lot of people would be able to talk about, and used them as the foundation for my application. I made sure to align all of these examples with the requirements of the job role because as an applicant you have one job, making sure you leave the interviewer with no doubt that you would be capable of performing in that role.

What specific skills/qualities do I think Bentley look for in an apprentice?

I’ve found that a lot of the time people appreciate really good communication. With the fast paced environment that we find ourselves in, people really appreciate transparency and being kept in the loop as it helps them plan and outline their tasks accordingly.

Were there any resources that helped me during the application process?

I did 2 weeks of work experience at EY which I also had to apply for and do an interview for. This was sorted through my school but the rest of my work experience was customer service roles that I had worked part-time. Feedback from other unsuccessful assessment centres also helped me to shape my application for Bentley so wherever you can always ask for feedback. I didn’t really use many other resources but there are lots of interview and CV writing tips on platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube which are great examples to follow.

My advice for relocating:

I think that relocating to Crewe for my apprenticeship has been great for my personal development since I have had the opportunity to move out and live independently for the first time. I definitely think that the experience has pushed me outside of my comfort zone, which I think is where people experience the most growth.

That said, my advice for anyone considering moving would be to research the surrounding area and try and pinpoint locations that you will navigate frequently (gyms, grocery stores etc). In particular try to find out how far they are from work and home as it will give you a better idea of what you can expect for commuting times. Luckily for me work is a 5 minute walk from home now, and I’ve got a bike through the cycle to work scheme at Bentley, which makes commuting for groceries and to the town centre much easier.

How did I adjust to living in Crewe compared to London?

Crewe isn’t by any means London, it’s a lot quieter for sure, but it does help that Manchester and Liverpool are only 35/40 minutes away by train- that’s a shorter journey than Hackney to Sheperd’s Bush so in hindsight it could be a lot worse! I think because of the flexibility Bentley has to offer with flexitime and remote working, I’ve been able to go back to London quite a bit. Often I go home on a Thursday night so I can work from home in London on the Friday and since we as a company are usually done by 14:30 it means I have more time to enjoy the weekend.

Bentley support my commuting to and from university. They cover my train tickets, my cab to and from the station and also provide me with a food allowance to cover any food I eat while I am there. I think this sort of financial support is great because these weekly trips can very quickly add up to a lot of money, so it’s nice to see that they are happy to make this investment to support me on my program.

In order to settle into a new environment, you need to embrace everything that comes with it. There was a point where I was in London every weekend because I didn’t want to stick around in Crewe but once I gave it a chance, did a bit of exploring and found some things to do in the area I realised that it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought - It’s also a lot cheaper :). 

What has been the biggest benefit of relocating for my apprenticeship both personally and professionally for my future career?

Like I mentioned before, relocating has forced me to come outside of my comfort zone and I think it’s one of the best things that could’ve happened to me because whether I want to or not, I now have to be much more responsible. Sometimes things don’t go to plan so you have to adapt and review what caused things to not go to plan, this is vital to professional life as we have to constantly adapt to changes caused to our initial plans by things that are outside of our control. If anything I’m now better equipped to operate in a constantly evolving work environment than I was before. It also has shown me there’s a lot more to life than London! Yes there are a host of opportunities in London but we have a tendency to trap ourselves in a bubble and forget about the outside world, so moving up to Crewe has been a great experience to say the least.

What does a typical day look like for me?

When I’m at university, I typically travel up to Manchester and start my lectures from 10AM finishing at 5PM with a 1 hour lunch break at 12PM. When working on-site, depending on how much I have going on, usually I will get to the office at around 8AM and leave any time after 3.30PM. Depending on the day of the week I could be taking part in supplier meetings, weekly team meetings, shadowing more senior members in my team or even having them walk me through projects that I’ve been assigned.

I enjoy the fact that I still feel like a university student because I still attend a brick and mortar university so I don’t really miss out on much on the social side anyways. I also enjoy the opportunities for networking that are available and how a lot of the people that I meet are really welcoming and willing to help at all times even upon first introductions.

What has been my favourite project or moment at Bentley Motors so far?

I really appreciate how welcoming my team have been with me only starting in September. I started the day before my birthday so they decided to take me out to a restaurant in Nantwich which I do appreciate because I wasn’t planning on doing anything to celebrate. Outside of that they’ve been willing to lend me a hand with absolutely anything from Bentley work to university assignments so they really have made these first few months really enjoyable.

Why choose an apprenticeship at Bentley?

Apprenticeships are great because they combine practicality and the application of the skills being learnt on your training programme while also securing yourself with a qualification of some sort. It also means that you carry no debt and the experience that you gain will prove to be a lot more valuable in the long run. I think the opportunities to expand you’re network are unparalleled as you have direct access to industry professionals from day one who later down the line you can call on for help or even have opportunities presented to you.

How do I see my future after completing my apprenticeship?

I am currently training within my apprenticeship to be the lead VAVE calculator for software within our team, so my plan is to make the most of the skills and connections I have gained during my experience as an apprentice to increase the visibility in software and technology between the purchase department at Bentley and the wider automotive industry!