operator Review
at MBDA
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Engineering
Bolton, Greater Manchester
Review Submitted: April 2025
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
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Overview of Role
4/5
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Skills Development
3.8/5
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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:
3/5
my role as an apprentice at MBDA involves shadowing skilled employees and learning how they assemble components, i also go through the layouts and often get an opportunity to have a go myself.
along with that we get given projects where you and your team get a chance to pitch your ideas to those higher up in the company as well as getting our names heard.
MBDA supports continuous improvement offering lots of online virtual courses for you to better yourself.
along with that we get given projects where you and your team get a chance to pitch your ideas to those higher up in the company as well as getting our names heard.
MBDA supports continuous improvement offering lots of online virtual courses for you to better yourself.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
4/5
i enjoy getting to socialize with others on the shop floor getting a grasp of what being a permanent employee is like and hearing about other peoples experiences and how they ended up here. I also enjoy learning different stages of the assembly getting to try each section out and get a feel for what i enjoy the most.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
i have developed many new skills working at MBDA from engineering based skills like operating different tools and machinery to more real like day to day skills like my social skills and communicating in a professional mannerism. They offer support in doing this and understand your will never be perfect at if just off the bat allowing you time and space to grow as an engineer.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
As you can imagine there is a lot of jobs that require a skilled person to work on so sometimes you are left just watching people where it doesn't feel like you are gaining much from the experience, however to combat this the managers of the ECP team are always looking for ways to change this from introducing projects that we manage ourselves. so in all i believe it is well structured for the type of equipment we are working on.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
i believe we receive enough support when we need it, any questions you ask will get answered to the best of their abilities. i was on maternity leave for 9 months and the support i got when i first came back was incredible from being offered a slow return to having a meeting booked to catch up and check on me.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
i have not been at wigan and leigh very long but for the time i have been there i think the tutors i have had have been wonderful however don't agree with some decisions and events that happened with the head of studies and a tutor. I don't believe wigan and leigh demonstrate the professionalism that MBDA standards set.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
At the moment i have not had to use anything i have learned in my qualification at work. This is because what we do is such a niche market that its hard to cater towards it. Saying this though i enjoy the majority of my qualification and hope to use this more when i progress in the future.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
There are lots of different extra curricular activities to participate in if you would like from sports to even just having lunches together. MBDA really try and make an effort with this. We recently finished a project and got taken bowling as a little celebration for it.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend MBDA to a friend?
Yes
Why?
It is a very professional work place that looks after their employees, though the work on the shop floor we do may be limited we learn so much more in the way of professionalism mannerisms how to network and how to seek help and advice when its needed.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to MBDA?
Just be yourself MBDA pride themselves in being diverse as everyone has a unique point of view and in engineering that means one person may se something or notice something that another doesn't. If you talk passionately about the things your most interested in this too makes you more appealing.
