Level 6 Materials & Process Analysis Review

My home department is responsible for laboratory testing of parts and processes used within Rolls Royce. We have three types of testing, failure analysis which is diagnosing the root cause of failures that have occurred during the production process such as broken parts. Routine analysis which is about ensuring quality in our regular processes and parts used, for example testing transmission oil for contamination. We also do testing to help with the release process of new ideas, this involves thoroughly testing new parts and processes prior to release to ensure the quality of the part/process is in line with Rolls Royce & BMW group standards. This aspect of our testing involves testing a lot of bespoke parts in the design phase which I find extremely interesting. My apprenticeship also involves attending the University of Chichester every week, during the first year I am at university twice per week & in the plant 3 days per week however this reduces to 1 day at university and 4 days in the plant from the second academic year onwards. The university aspect of this apprenticeship is my least favourite part as I feel that the training provider is not very good, for example the lecturers could be much better. In my opinion it would greatly benefit the apprentices to be able to attend a better training provider than the University of Chichester for degree apprentices. Overall I really enjoy my apprenticeship and the learning opportunities that it provides to me and I would thoroughly recommend this apprenticeship, and degree apprenticeships in general to those who are exploring their options after completing their A levels.

I found that the programme has been fairly well structured, however there was some confusion at the start of the programme and I felt that there could be more transparency on the programme prior to starting with things such as training providers and the split between time spent in the workplace and at university.

I feel that the support recieved from the company is very good, both from within my department from my manager and also having a dedicated HR advisor who you can go to with any concerns or questions regarding your work or study programme or even any personal issues.

I would say that you receive moderate support from the training provider, in my opinion the lecturers are not good enough though and even simple things such as replying to emails can take a long time and require chasing up multiple times. If I were to change anything about the programme it would be the training provider for my course.

Moderately, I think my course isn't particularly well suited to my workplace role however I understand that I am the first apprentice in my role so this is something that could be improved on from my experience. However I am glad that I am doing a more generalised engineering degree as it will allow greater flexibility in the future with changing roles.

Yes

I think it is a great company to work for and allows for a lot of opportunities to grow and develop in the future both domestically and internationally. I thoroughly enjoy my role and feel that I am making a real contribution a unique and amazing product at Rolls Royce. I also think that the pay is fair as an apprentice and the company has great benefits such as a generous car scheme.