With a workforce of 90,000 people in more than 40 countries, BAE Systems are committed to nurturing talent and developing highly skilled colleagues empowering their people to drive innovation, make the right decisions, and solve complex challenges. Their highly regard apprenticeship scheme offers over 50 different ways into their business With an average of 2,000 apprentices in learning at any one time.
Millie, a Business Apprentice in BAE Systems Air division shares her top tips on apprenticeships and how she’s approached her career so far.
I’ve always been more suited to hands-on experience. I decided university wasn’t the best route for me after completing my A levels and looked into other options. An apprenticeship was perfect for me.
You can make your career whatever you want it to be. The opportunities within the company are endless. There are so many different roles and functions.
Every day is different. It keeps the job interesting and engaging. A typical day consists of attending and providing information for meetings to discuss business performance. This also means dealing with various stakeholders, as well as collating and validating data which can be shown to senior members of the business.
My best day at work was travelling to Belgium to attend the Typhoon Final Offer announcement at the British Embassy. I was able to meet managing directors of BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo, as well as the British Ambassador.
The people I interact with at work are at completely different stages of their career. I really enjoy liaising with stakeholders as you can build some great relationships, and get to earn people’s trust and respect. Everyone is more than willing to help and share their advice and experiences, no matter how senior they are in the business.
You meet lovely people when you join. I think the moment I realised I had made ‘real friends’ at work was when I was able to make plans to go on nights out, for meals, and even to festivals. I think it’s great to know you have someone there for you, or even just a friendly face to meet up with for lunch.
The fact that my job is really rewarding makes it easy to get up in the morning. It’s an amazing feeling to know that I have contributed to the making of an aircraft and to be part of the world’s largest defence programme. At BAE Systems your successes are rewarded, with support and recognition awards.
I don’t think many people at this stage of their career get to feel as proud of their achievements at work. When I look back at how much I’ve matured and learnt in just two years, and how much I’ve grown as a person too, I feel I’ve come a long way.
Take every opportunity that is thrown your way! If someone is considering applying for a role at BAE Systems I’d tell them to go for it. If you’re a person who enjoys a challenge, would love to get stuck into some really interesting work and learn whilst gaining experience in a global business, than an apprenticeship at BAE Systems is for you.
Switch on your career with BAE Systems. To find out more about our apprenticeships click here.
