Toolmaker Review

Item: Toolmaker at BMW Group UK
Rating: 4.1
Author: Anonymous

at BMW Group UK

Level 3 Apprenticeship

Manufacturing, Engineering

Swindon, Wiltshire

Review Submitted: April 2024

Overall Rating

4.1 /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 - Overview of Role

5/5 - Skills Development

3.8/5 - Structure and Support

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

3/5

The role varies day to day and depends on what rotation we are doing at that moment. These rotations will help me learn new skills throughout the first year and on Mondays we have a college day. The college days allow us to get further knowledge within mathematics and physics for what we may need for future use.

To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

4/5

I have enjoyed the programme so far and I am looking forward towards future rotations within the company and learning and applying what I have learnt so far into the workplace. As in the previous question, I have enjoyed the hands on part of the rotations and how this crosses over into my job role.

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

5/5

I have learnt a lot of new skills within the rotations within the workshop. This is due to the varied rotations and a lot of this I haven't had any experience in before. I have learnt the skills such as using a mill and lathe in the correct fashion and I have enjoyed learning these machines. A lot of the machine processes and other rotations such as welding are something that I have enjoyed learning due to having no prior knowledge.

Structure and Support

How well organised/structured is your programme?

3/5

I would say that at the program has been fairly structured. The college days have a definitive structure between physics and then mathematics. However, there was some loss in structure during the rotations within the workshop, this is due to a constant fluctuation with tutors for the rotations with BMet and how in some cases of not having a tutor has disrupted this and caused alterations to be made and some last minute decisions have also caused change.

How much support do you receive from your employer?

5/5

I receive a lot of support from my employer employer has been there since the beginning and has offered solutions for travel to other sites for training. Additionally, whenever I have asked for assistance it has been offered and I would say I need to make more use of asking for help.

How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

4/5

I do feel supported from Bmet as they allowed me to get extra time for college work and getting the assessments done to prove this. Not only this but the support and understanding of the tutors when making them aware of when I use my extra time and how I can work in a more efficient manner. I do feel that with the constant changes of tutors during rotations within the workshop has hindered the support in some way, although, it hasn't affected this massively.

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 my qualification through Bmet will help me within my role in the future as the skills learnt in the workshop can benefit me in my job role. This is due to the qualification helps underpin the basic skills that are required to understand my role and the processes within it.

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

There are a few extra-curricular activities that are within the workplace. This would include charity champions, the move programme, the newsletter team and a new conservation team that was created by other apprentices within the company. There is also opportunities for going to careers fairs to try and get people interested for the apprenticeships. I do think that the fact that there are apprentice made extra curricular is good but I do think that there is an opportunity to get some more, possibly more sports teams that are available would be good.

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend BMW Group UK to a friend?

Yes

Why?

I would recommend BMW Group to my friends that are interested in the automotive industry and if they are more hands on. The company is also a good one for the benefits and the support given to you. The support and the guidance from the company is one of the better for the support from my experience in other workspaces.

What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BMW Group UK?

For tips and advice to others that are applying to BMW Group, I would suggest that you should aim for the required grades to get in from a GCSE level and make sure that you are interested within the industry. I would also recommend to be prepared for a challenge but a fun challenge.

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