Apprentice Aircraft Technician Review
at BAE Systems
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering
Warton, Carnforth, UK
Review Submitted: March 2025
Overall Rating
3.7 /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
-
Overview of Role
4/5
-
Skills Development
3.4/5
-
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
In Placements, you get experienced in around 7 to 8 different areas of the business. I experienced, Human Factors, KSA Integration, Hawk Maintenance, Avionic Systems Integration, Next Gen Training, Mission Systems. This is to provide you with experience to then take on an exit role in a previous placement or in a new area that early careers provide. Each placement lasts 4 months and every role was different in my experience. Some were better than others! It definitely opened my eyes to how wide the business is and that there is genuinely a place for everyone and you will always find something that you enjoy doing.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
2/5
I am in the middle with this question, sometimes I enjoyed college/apprenticeship side of things, however sometimes it was a bit of a drag for lack of better words. I am definitely greatly looking forward to not looking back on the learning side of my career when my apprenticeship ends. On the other hand I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone especially if you can get in before attending college straight after your GCSE's.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
Plenty, I am a wizard at Excel and can program complex algorithms for it. I have learnt simulation coding and also added to my previous experiences in Web design, Java and Windows Powershell/Bash. I took quite an interest in software sides of the areas of business that I went into. I have also learnt important corporate skills such as talking to customers and working in an agile environment towards deadlines using business improvement techniques to better our workflow.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
Fairly well. However as part of level 3 Technician career path, doing a level 4 qualification is mandatory and due to the higher level of difficulty and the extra work load it sometimes could have been structured better to allow for more time. Frequently, 3 assignments that were not small were set and due on the same dates. I have not got to the point of my EPA (End Point Assessment) yet however I am due between April - September. From talking to ex apprentices, this seems to have been structured differently since however in a way that makes it slower to get through which is slightly unfortunate.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
A lot.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
My training provider was great, I have heard stories that others were not... luck of the draw? Hopefully Early Careers can get ahead of that soon.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
4/5
A lot of it has been fairly irrelevant to me and the placements I have been in. I have never been required to know anything about material composites etc, CAD is about the only thing I have properly had to use that has been useful to have a base knowledge of from my time doing my qualification.
However if my placements were different I may have had to use all of the knowledge my qualification provided on a daily basis.
However if my placements were different I may have had to use all of the knowledge my qualification provided on a daily basis.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
2/5
There are, I have not attended many though.
I did attend a weekly 5 aside we did at the lightning club in one of my placements.
I did attend a weekly 5 aside we did at the lightning club in one of my placements.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend BAE Systems to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Once your in, your in, the sky is the limit. There is thousands of opportunities including worldwide.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BAE Systems?
As a young entrant, at 17 years old, I was in the RAF Air Cadets, I also coached a sport that I had been doing since I was 8 to younger students and I also had several stints in various restaurant/kitchen jobs.
I feel this is definitely a baseline for your CV to have when applying as it gives you plenty to talk about in the interview. Cadets especially gives you a lot of qualifications such as first aid, team building and team leadership qualifications to talk about.
When speaking about such experiences in your interview, try to make a little sound like a lot, for instance, you didn't just wash pots at a restaurant, you "gained experience in the hospitality industry, by developing strong time management and organisational skills, learning to operate efficiently under pressure while maintaining a clean and compliant workspace. This role helped me understand the importance of team coordination and customer satisfaction, allowing me to contribute to an environment that prioritised excellent service and operational excellence."
The question they blindside you with in the interview typically has something to do with making something sustainable...!
I feel this is definitely a baseline for your CV to have when applying as it gives you plenty to talk about in the interview. Cadets especially gives you a lot of qualifications such as first aid, team building and team leadership qualifications to talk about.
When speaking about such experiences in your interview, try to make a little sound like a lot, for instance, you didn't just wash pots at a restaurant, you "gained experience in the hospitality industry, by developing strong time management and organisational skills, learning to operate efficiently under pressure while maintaining a clean and compliant workspace. This role helped me understand the importance of team coordination and customer satisfaction, allowing me to contribute to an environment that prioritised excellent service and operational excellence."
The question they blindside you with in the interview typically has something to do with making something sustainable...!
