I would avoid apprentice or grad schemes until they are fixed... - Avis employé Apprentice Maintenance Engineer BAE Systems

The programme is very insufficiently structured. No team knows how to handle apprentices so things are being made up on the spot, this means that new structures are being tested which often do not work (when I have been there). This comes from their poor communications and planning alongside the college/uni. Some modules that we are taught in college/uni contain useful information that I can take away and use within my role, but this is very rare. BAE have copied this role from another site which has meant that modules are completely off-topic in comparison to the course I am supposed to be doing, which is then completely useless when it comes to helping me in my roles. It is actually becoming a nuisance that I have to complete the module at the same time as doing my role. For example, we have learnt about bearings and types of oils that are used in conveyors, however this has no links to the office work that I am doing. My qualification that I am gaining in college/uni is almost irrelevant to my job role. There are things such as unnecessary admin due to all of the security needs and there is also issues as I have to do things outside of my working life such as college/uni work whilst on minimum wage and no overtime. This is due to issues happening often when needing an answer to a question off Early Careers is either ignored or delayed. I will say thought that almost everyone that works there is very nice and will always be up to chat with you and help you if they aren’t busy, the higher up you go however the less I would say this. Some employees are literally scared of their managers. There is also an issue with budgeting where, for example, I find an issue it won't be fixed as it costs the business money to amend, but this causes more problems later on (Within my current role). It seems that fixes are only done when they choose and can be ignored even if it breaks specific systems. Another issue that I have is that we were misled by the people in the company and the job advert, both mentioned that we are going to be doing hands on work on the boats. I am meant to be a maintenance engineer, but I am not... I am stuck in an office all day doing work on spreadsheets or changing fonts on word docs to align with policies. There is little to no mention of the job being office work in the job description and to be honest I would not have applied for the role knowing this. The office work is also very admin like, checking that everything is correct, and that people have the right accesses etc. This actually causes quite an issue when it comes to trying to hit the criteria that they want you to hit for the end of the apprenticeship/grad scheme. Due to the criteria being based on hands on work, like let's say, lifting equipment safely, you cannot hit this in the office and struggle with your end point assessment. If you are reading reviews here it can be mixed, some days you have loads of work to do and other you will literally be sat around doing nothing. Especially as a grad/apprentice where tasks are minimal due to the short stint you have in the team. I have had weeks, sometimes months of little to no work which sounds good on paper but it awful when you are in office. The office placements highly rely on a lot of factors which decide if they go well or not. Overall tasks given to me on placement are fine, they are not difficult, however this is only due to previous workplace experience, another apprentice on the same placement may find it quite difficult. There is an overall lack of team integration and involvement from my placement manager and overall team, which can lead to the placement being very mundane and lacking in learning. If all this is fixed the scheme would be great...