Featured Apprentice Story

As an engineering technician apprentice, Lucy has to complete a Level 3 BTEC in engineering. She also completes 6 placements throughout the business, contributing to the businesses demands. She also has to complete 20% off the job training, such as studying. All of this will result in Lucy gaining a Level 3 BTEC, and an apprenticeship qualification, pathway 13.

On the engineering technician pathway, Lucy is put into placements across the business to get a broad knowledge of how the business operates. Her first placement was within the logistic support team. Within this role, Lucy completed many customer demands, to a high standard. She completed a wide range of tasks, from sending kits to suppliers to be calibrated so that they were always fit for use when required, to organising whole customer working parties, to the customer’s sites. To organise these working parties, took leadership skills, to organise all of the people and parts that were required to successfully complete the trip, so that the customer could have their jet working again. Through these skills, not only was the customer highly satisfied, but Lucy has been nominated as part of the team, for a chairman’s award. This is a prestigious award within BAE Systems. These roles have allowed her to build leadership and organisation skills, which can be used throughout her career.

Another of Lucy’s placements has been at RAF Leeming, assisting with the Qatari Hawk contact. This role requires dedication, to travel across the country, to be on base, to help complete a range of different tasks, as part of a fast-moving team environment. In an ever-changing environment, she has to provide high quality results to the customer. An example of work that she has carried out is helping to supply all of the flying clothing that all pilots need to be issued with before flying. Her dedication to the task took problem solving and team work to solve many unknown problems that she was faced with. Without this work, the contact would have been breached, as the pilots would have been unable to fly.

Alongside her placements, Lucy also completes a range of extracurricular activities, which help develop her further, as well as promoting BAE Systems, and apprenticeships. She is a STEM ambassador and promotes engineering and STEM subjects to a wide audience. As a woman in engineering, she works hard to diversify the work force, by inspiring more woman to join the sector, by sharing her story and experiences. Alongside this, she is a member of the apprentice ambassador network (AAN) in the Northwest region. She has recently joined the board of the network, as the Cheshire and Warrington Chair. This allows her to lead the activities and members of the network in this area. She attends many meetings with the Pledge. She works with the group, to promote apprenticeships in this local area, by completing talks in the area, at many events such as assemblies or carers fairs. She also works hard to inspire more apprentices to join the network, and to share their inspiring stories.

Once a week, Lucy also attends college, to complete a BTEC in Aerospace Engineering. This theory biased course allows the practical skills that she learns on placement, to be put into place, as well as learn new skills, that she can also utilise in her placements. She has shown dedication, by completing work in her own time, to achieve distinction grades in all work that she has carried out so far. All of these skills that Lucy is learning throughout her apprenticeship, will help her in the business by becoming a vital team member, but also will develop herself further. She can take these skills that she learns into other aspects of her life, such as when she volunteers as a trampoline coach for 8-12 years old, or when at Girl Guides as a Ranger.