Apprentice Electronic Design Engineer Review
at AWE
Degree Apprenticeship
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Aldermaston
Review Submitted: April 2026
Overall Rating
3.3 /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
4/5
-
Skills Development
3/5
-
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
Prototyping and simulating electronic circuits
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
When there is meaningful work to do that is relevant to electronic engineering the programme can be very fun but there can also be a lot of disorganisation at times
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
Soldering, cable management, circuit theory, simulation skills, basic PCB layout skills
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
The programme is structured so that you enter onsite placements after finishing a 1-1.5 year course in a training facility. The training facility teaches many useful skills but also omits or under develops ones which apprentice electronic engineers should be taught/introduced to (e.g. some form of embedded programming, surface mount soldering, etc).
Apprentices and their line managers are expected to arrange placements themselves instead of having an employee whose dedicated role includes organising relevant placements. This can become a problem when line managers, who don't necessarily work in electronics, and apprentices, who are new to working onsite, do not know what departments are suitable for them.
Apprentices and their line managers are expected to arrange placements themselves instead of having an employee whose dedicated role includes organising relevant placements. This can become a problem when line managers, who don't necessarily work in electronics, and apprentices, who are new to working onsite, do not know what departments are suitable for them.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
The employer is generally very helpful but it can feel like it takes too long for feedback about the educational provider to be acted upon.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
2/5
The educational provider can be helpful at times but this is very lecturer dependent. Sometimes lecturers feel overworked and can perform poorly for long periods of time without being replaced or showing meaningful improvement.
Whilst being a useful tool, it can feel like certain lecturers rely too heavily on AI for important tasks (e.g. marking and creating assignments that impact grades).
Whilst being a useful tool, it can feel like certain lecturers rely too heavily on AI for important tasks (e.g. marking and creating assignments that impact grades).
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
1/5
The quality of education at the employer's training provider is very poor and certain modules that are taught are feel irrelevant to the apprenticeship and its standard.
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
Yes
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AWE to a friend?
Yes
Why?
The pay is competitive but certain aspects of the company are very disorganised.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to AWE?
Ask questions about job roles during the application process if possible as there can be miscommunications between those who write job descriptions and those who actually know what a role entails
