Aerospace Engineering Degree Apprentice Review

Item: Aerospace Engineering Degree Apprentice at BAE Systems
Rating: 4.3
Author: Anonymous

at BAE Systems

Degree Apprenticeship

Engineering

Warton, Lancashire

Review Submitted: April 2026

Overall Rating

4.3 /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!

5/5 - Overview of Role

5/5 - Skills Development

3.8/5 - Structure and Support

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

5/5

Work as an aerospace engineering degree apprentice. I work on real projects within the business as part of the role, changing my discipline ever 6 months. After six placements, I will chose an exit role, which will likely be based off one of the placements I have been on. Placements vary in terms of the skills, knowledge and experience you get, allowing engineers to discover what they like and dislike about the discipline, leading to a more focused career later on down the line.

To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

5/5

BAE took on many apprentices as part of the degree apprenticeship scheme. This has allowed me to make many new friends who share similar interests to me. Additionally, the variety of placements and ability to explore all areas of the Air business is exciting because you are not stuck doing one thing for too long. It also allows you to build connections with many people throughout the business, both in personal and professional ways. Finally, there are many options to get involved with activities outside of your day job, for example helping out at STEM events as a STEM ambassador, attending facility tours as part of careers week and attending team building activities. Overall I extremely enjoy the apprenticeship programme which I am on.

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

5/5

In the short time frame which I have been doing my apprenticeship, I have learnt many new skills and developed lots of pre-existing ones. These skills include:
- Professionalism
- Communication both in a professional and personal sense
- Confidence in myself and my work
- Improved time management and personal organisational skills
- Leadership
- Analytical methods
- Systems thinking
- Company processes and security awareness

Structure and Support

How well organised/structured is your programme?

4/5

The apprenticeship is well organised and communication to apprentices on expectations is mostly clear. Any queries are answered in a timely fashion.

How much support do you receive from your employer?

5/5

Support during the apprenticeship is excellent. From the start, each apprentice is assigned a member of staff called a "skills coach," who is responsible for running learning progress review and is often your first point of contact for any queries which you have. My skills coach is extremely approachable and I never feel embarrassed or a burden to ask a question. Skills coaches have groups of 6-8 apprentices, and meet regularly for discussions to raise concerns.
Another method of support is that you get assigned a "buddy" at the start of your apprenticeship who is in the year above. The aim of this is to be another outlet of support to ask questions to someone who you may find more relatable.
Overall, the company is very supportive and heavily invested in your development, both personally and professionally.

How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

3/5

Personally, I believe that the training provider has some pros and cons to it. Whilst the course and content is interesting and lecturers are extremely friendly. Support surrounding exam questions is strong leading to good exam preparation. However, some of the organisation and communication surrounding the exams and assignments is poor, leading to discrepancies amongst teachers and individuals on the requirements. With that being said, the company pays for your degree so this is not an expense you have to cover yourself.

How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

3/5

The university training provider helps to teach academic skills which are necessary for use in my work on placements within the business. I have found that particularly the report writing modules and assignments have benefited me. Since I am only on my first placement, I do not know if I will be applying my knowledge further down my line, although I am sure that I will, particularly in more technical placements. Despite this, I believe that I learn more from observing my colleagues on placement, as I practically applying ,my learning all the time.

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

There are many extra-curricular activities which are available for apprentices at BAE. Some of which are provided by the company, for example networking events, suppliers fares, early careers weeks and stretch projects, which is additional work on interesting and exciting projects which are outside of the normal scope of your day job. In addition, I have been involved in 5 aside football and many work organised nights out which has been great due to the many friends I have made in my cohort of apprentices.

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend BAE Systems to a friend?

Yes

Why?

I would recommend BAE to a friend because so far, the apprenticeship has genuinely been a great experience for me. You get to move around the business every six months, working on real aerospace projects, which keeps things interesting and helps you figure out what you actually enjoy. One of the best parts is the people — BAE takes on a big apprentice intake, so you naturally make loads of friends and there’s always something going on, whether it’s football, nights out, stretch projects, or STEM events. The support is also brilliant: you are given a skills coach who, from my experiences, has been approachable, plus a buddy in the year above who you can ask the small questions you might not want to take to a manager. While the university provider is not perfect in terms of organisation, the degree is fully funded and the academic skills have already helped me in my placement work. Overall, it is a really supportive, friendly place where you feel like the company genuinely wants you to grow — both as an engineer and as a person — which is why I would definitely recommend it.

What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BAE Systems?

- Ensure that you apply for as many degree apprenticeships as possible across various companies, and apply for university places too if this is an option that you want to consider. Both pathways are extremely competitive, so keeping your options open is really important.
- Gain as much work and industry experience as possible before applying. Experiences which you gain through these placements are not things that you can develop anywhere else, and they provide the means to give strong interview answers.
- Keep your CV updated ready to give to the employer
- Conduct some research into the company, including core values, which are extremely important to mention how you have shown them in interviews.
- Have some answers prepared to generic questions. Often you will be able to deliver the answer that you have learnt, or modify it to meet the question.
- Take your time when answering questions. There is no harm in taking some time to think or as the interviewer to repeat the question. Staying calm at this point is the most important thing.
- Ensure that you ask a question at the end of the interview. If you do not feel confident enough to ask one on the spot, you can write one down before hand.

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