Manufacturing Engineer Review
at BAE Systems
Higher Level Apprenticeship
Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering
Samlesbury
Review Submitted: April 2026
Overall Rating
3.5 /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
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
3/5
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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
General engineering tasks to support the development / production of various aircraft and supporting equipment, machines and tools. Highly diverse, albeit heavily document orientated.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
4/5
Personally, I enjoy the program and the contents. It just some factors I do not agree with.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
I have certainly learnt new skills, digitally and physically. I have developed skills and knowledge from previous education but with context of aircrafts.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
2/5
It is not organised very well. Uncertainty on dates of qualifying the Apprenticeship, Lack of useful communication, Easily forgotten about.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
If employer is meant as the personnel at BAE who teach the job and not the qualification side. Then in my opinion the support has been great. A genuine interest in me and my work helps. Answering any question I have even If they have to break the explanation down massively.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
2/5
Support in terms of non-work related? Great, there is plenty of advise for Health, Mental Health, Religion, Money, Worries and other related issues. However, support with actual work within the apprenticeship is lacklustre. Being told different answers and not having contact for weeks. There is no common ground between the training providers. Fluffy open-ended questions that seem subjective to answer being graded differently to what you think, shouldn't be a thing. Sometimes your voice is not heard, and it does not feel like you have been noticed enough.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
2/5
They can occasionally relate but the work within BAE is too complicated to be covered by some relatively simple qualifications in comparison. There are times when they are used and It is nice to utilise what you have learned. However, Learning AutoCAD to then use a different software does not make sense.
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 quite a few, they vary and some are very interesting.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend BAE Systems to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Once in the company, the benefits of working at BAE far outweigh the initial start. The job is secure, provides a liveable wage, develops yourself into meaningful work and has the opportunity for further education.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BAE Systems?
Read any information BAE provide you for applications, interviews. Read information about BAE in which you can weave into your answers to questions in interviews. It shows you have done research and care.
Graduate Aerospace Integration Engineer
at BAE Systems
- Graduate Scheme
- Prestwick, Ayrshire and Arran
-
4.5
