Project Management Degree Apprentice Review
at BAE Systems
Degree Apprenticeship
Project Management
Barrow-in-Furness, UK
Review Submitted: April 2025
Overall Rating
3.8 /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
3.4/5
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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
As part of my apprenticeship I have been placed in seperate teams for 1 year durations to get a wider view of the organisation. I have been placed in a Change , Programme Security & Investments, and Engineering Outsource Teams. I have been involved in project ranging from the hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions. Most of my roles have been managing and supporting smaller projects generally under 10 million to get on contract and then performance tracking and reporting to CAMs and the customer.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
Generally I find the programme enjoyable. The placements I have undertaken have been interesting and engaging, supporting my development. University as a whole has been less engaging with the experience heavily dependent on the module lead.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
Through my apprenticeship I have been able to develop my project management capability through a mix of University learning and through hands on experience in project teams. I have developed my IT & English and Maths skills through placements from the different reporting tools & programmes used as well as writing and reviewing business cases to understand the commercial impacts to the business or acting as the customer for outsourced work.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
The Programme is well structured in that you know the timelines of when you'll be leaving a team and your dates for End Point Assessment. The actual placements themselves are less structured as they rely on the business having managers willing & capable of taking an apprentice into their team and fostering an environment of learning.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
If needed my employer offers support not only in work but also problems outside of work, including to lose family members. I personally have never had to use any of this but the offer is always there.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
1/5
The training provider is generally poor in the support they provide. Outside of the scheduled lectures the feedback and support received from tutors tends to be poor
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
The learning that I have gotten through university has helped translate into my placement work through general understanding of methodology but due to the unique nature of my organisation it isn't completely transferable.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
My organisation provide many opportunities outside of work to network and also support many schools and charities which employees are encouraged to become involved in. Apprentices are more encouraged to become involved in these activities to develop behaviours needed to meet the apprentice standard,
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend BAE Systems to a friend?
Yes
Why?
The pay for an apprenticeship is equivalent to that of a full time employee, supporting life outside of work. The organisation also provides many additional training opportunities as well as opportunities to work in different business units across the UK and world.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BAE Systems?
Have a basic understanding of the role that you're applying for in preparation for your interview, with an understanding of how that role impacts an organisation such as BAE which have unique constraints. Also if applying for an apprenticeship consider applying for a "lower" role alongside your preferred choice. You are able to apply for a Higher/Degree apprenticeship as well as a more foundation based course. The business has a lot of room for internal growth so even if you don't get your preffered role, there will be opportunities to move into that role after some time. The business sponsors all employees to attain higher qualifications and will pay for that if done internally.
