Purchasing Apprentice Review

Item: Purchasing Apprentice at BMW Group UK
Rating: 4.4
Author: Anonymous

at BMW Group UK

Degree Apprenticeship

Procurement

Oxford

Review Submitted: April 2026

Overall Rating

4.4 /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!

4/5 - Overview of Role

5/5 - Skills Development

4.4/5 - 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

As a purchasing apprentice I manage my own contracts, run tenders, ensure sustainable supplier selection, do data analysis and support the wider team.

To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

4/5

I think working in purchasing provides useful opportunities to broaden my skill set. Since working here, my confidence has significantly increased, as well as my overall awareness of how a business operates. I enjoy the sustainability aspects of the job and having my own commodities, however at times my workload is overwhelming and I struggle to prioritise tasks. The apprenticeship programme as a whole is really well structured and provides opportunities to work in different areas of the business which I think is essential to expand your network and gain an appreciation of how other departments work.

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

5/5

By working in purchasing I have improved my confidence, supplier management skills, organisational skills (still to be developed!) as well as team working, networking, and task management (balancing personal life, work life, and university workload)

Structure and Support

How well organised/structured is your programme?

5/5

The apprenticeship is well structured, placements are decided almost before the start date and this is clearly communicated when you start. Despite this, there is the opportunity to amend placements based on preference or to work around your work projects. The university side is well structured too, it is particularly useful to have the assignment workshops throughout the year, and the course calendar is always clearly communicated in advance of the academic year.

How much support do you receive from your employer?

5/5

I receive excellent support from my employer. My apprentice manager is approachable and I know I can speak to her about anything. I also have two mentors in the purchasing team and have regular 1-1s with both them and my line manager.

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

5/5

I also receive excellent support from the training provider - I have regular review meetings with her and my apprentice manager and mentor. This provides useful opportunities to review and give feedback about my course and my work load.

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

4/5

I can see how the business management qualification is relevant to my role - a lot of content we learn in university is applicable and observable at work. A good example of this was when I had a placement in HR, in line with the HR module at university. Because I had learned the content and the theory at university, I was able to apply this to my placement - I then used this knowledge in an absence project. The content for the project was then used in wider meetings in the HR team. Therefore, I believe my qualification does contribute towards better performance.

Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

3/5

There are several opportunities to get involved in wider teams at work (charity team, newsletter team, sharepoint team) all of which are apprentice run. External to this, there aren't really other extracurricular activities on offer.

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend BMW Group UK to a friend?

Yes

Why?

I think BMW advocate for development in all areas of the business, regardless of whether you are an apprentice or not. Having development opportunities is really valuable to both parties and can make the employees feel more valued. As well as this, the benefits of the job are good (car scheme, salary, additional benefits) and the working culture of the company is nice.