Fabricator apprentice Review
at BAE Systems
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Engineering
Portsmouth
Review Submitted: April 2023
Overall Rating
3.9 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3.5/5
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Overview of Role
4/5
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Skills Development
3.6/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
On a day to day base we generally spend most out time in the work shop developing skills appropriate to fabrication and completing courses such as steel plate work and welding across our time in this job, most days are different depending on what project we are doing whilst we are in the training centre.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I very much enjoy this program as it is a huge improvement from the school environment that I was in before as well as being a more rewarding job as I am able to see great improvement over only 6 months. Another positive about this apprenticeship is that we are always doing something different each day.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
I have developed and learnt many new skills whilst working at bae. This is partially because I have entered this apprenticeship straight from school therefore there has been a huge change of environment and increase in discipline and other values important to bae. There has also been many opportunities to learn and develop skills with new tools and equipment that we are trained to use and developing skills with these tools.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
This program is well organised to an extent as all the courses we have done so far have been interesting, rewarding and allowing us to develop skills other then bench fitting which was how we learnt to use hand tools but I believe that there could have been a better way to learn these skills as before this job I didn't even know what half the tools and equipment even was. But every course since then has been a great improvement and even bench fitting to an extent helped to develop some skills.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
We received a good amount of support from my employer especially at the beginning of the apprenticeship when we where transitioning into the new work environment. They have also been very good with supplying all relevant and necessary equipment needed for the job.HR has also been a vital source of information and support as they are very open and friendly.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
We receive a lot of support during this apprenticeship especially from our instructors as they have helped greatly to learn and develop new relevant skills preparing us for our job once we are out in the work place. As well as this the instructors are very open to question and help in anyway they can with the work.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
4/5
I feel that this helps motivate me as the qualification through my training provider helps to create a goal and target as it is something to aim for and helps motivate me when developing skills and especially when I struggle with parts of the apprenticeship as it in an incentive to do better and try harder.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
3/5
Yes we constantly get emails regarding different social activities outside the work place I believe that it is a monthly event that takes place doing different things each month as well as this I believe there are opportunities to be part of a sports team during the summer for apprentices.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend BAE Systems to a friend?
Yes
Why?
As it is a good company that helps you to develop many hand skills and comes with many new experiences as well as being education that you get paid very well for. There is also a great social side to this job as you will meet a variety of people many older and more experienced that can help during this apprenticeship.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BAE Systems?
To apply for fabrication, during this role you will always have something to do as well as a great variety in work as we have been able to do many different things as fabricators such as welding, burning, plasma cutting , hand rollers just to name a few of the equipment you will get to use. This allows us to have something different to do everyday.
