EDAS Apprentice - Aero Review

My current role is incredibly interesting and has helped me develop as an engineer. It involves creating a lot of software programs to analyse large amounts of data, as well as developing mathematical equations for novel ideas. I have been largely responsible for my own projects whilst on my current placement, and have often presented my work to customers and stakeholders such as the UK MoD.

The EDAS Aero scheme is not currently well organised. There are not enough placements or exit roles for everyone due to the large amount of apprentices and graduates the business is taking on. My cohort are meant to rotate onto the second half of our placements in two months and we have no indication of where these will be or what they will involve. This is not solely the fault of Early Careers, there seems to be large miscommunications in the business about apprentices and the types of work they should be doing.
Organisation at University is extremely poor. We recently had a lecturer swap in a module and the new lecturer is visibly confused and does not understand the slides or the content we have previously covered. Assignments often change significantly partway through, or crucial details only released 2-3 weeks into the timeframe. This makes planning your time extremely hard, as they seem to forget that we are also working a full time job and trying to have a social life. Accessing the lecture slides can be extremely difficult for some modules - even with a Learning Support Plan that requires uni to provide me with slides, I still do not currently have the slides for one of my modules. We are often kicked out of study rooms for staff meetings, even ones that are designated quiet study spaces. Exams are often delayed as there are not enough seats or exam papers for all students, despite the exam week being confirmed at the start of the year.

I have a Workplace Adjustment Passport which helps me manage my chronic illness and I have found extremely helpful. This was an easy process and I felt fully supported throughout. My placement teams have all been extremely accommodating of my needs.
The only reason I have rated this section a 3 instead of higher is because of university. Myself and other members of the cohort regularly raise issues with university with our apprentice college reps as well as our skills coaches. There is the acknowledgement from Early Careers that Uni is below standard and things need to change, but nothing actually gets done. It feels like an endless cycle of raising concerns/complaints and nothing gets done.

There is next to no support provided from University, whether that be pastoral or academic. My leaning support needs have been acknowledged, however absolutely nothing has been done about this and I am really struggling as a result.
In terms of academic support, it is extremely limited. I often pre-submit assignments to lecturers to ask for feedback and they either don't respond or their response is very short and vague. Lecturers seem unclear on the content, so asking questions in lesson often yields no help and usually results in more confusion.

Due to the poor standards of teaching and the fact our degree doesn't align with our placements, I have never used any university knowledge on placement so far. I would prefer to be on placement five times a week rather than attend university.

Yes

Assuming that you get good placements, the knowledge that you will gain will far surpass any learning that you will do at university. I have been with the business for two years and I have had the chance to be part of some amazing projects and develop a really strong portfolio. Additionally, with a degree apprenticeship you can save up and earn whilst you learn, and not be faced with incredible student loan debt when finishing your degree. It also provides a guaranteed job at the end of the apprenticeship provided you pass EPA (which you should with the support of your skills coach and early careers provided that you do the work).