Should you do an apprenticeship? BAE Systems apprentice Millie Chadwick on the reasons, rewards and challenges

Deciding whether or not to do an apprenticeship? BAE Systems apprentice Millie Chadwick explains the reasons behind her choice, the challenges – and the rewards.

Reasons

My dad and grandad worked in BAE Systems when they left school, so I had an insight into what they did. They were engineers, my Dad was principal communications engineer. I thought it was interesting and it was something I could see myself doing, especially working with new technology.

The other reason was I am dyslexic, so at school I struggled with English and the other language subjects. I excelled in the Stem subjects, especially maths and physics, and I knew I wanted to do something based around those. With the dock just down the road – and being able to start earning straight away – it just made sense.

Preparation

I’m at college one day a week, doing an HNC in mechanical engineering. Last year was full time at college, then I came into the office.

College was a bit like a stepping stone. You get a national diploma in engineering in your first year, which is tailored to what you’re going to be doing. It teaches you electrical principles, mechanical principles, health and safety, and business and communications. You do an engineering project as well. Once you’ve completed them, you’re ready for the second year.

We are moved around a lot of different placements in the company to get a feel for all the different jobs. My apprenticeship is focusing on the hull discipline, putting equipment in the boat. Some people in my team do things on the overall structure, and you come across all disciplines. I’m in the penetrations team, working out where pipes and things come though the boat, so I might get a query from one of the mechanical team asking if I can move something and go through somewhere else.

Rewards

I like that you can see things through, going from the start to finish of projects. You see things come to life, and how problems are tackled.

Being part of a team is also really rewarding, part of a big project like building a submarine. We are working with the best engineers in the country. They obviously know what they are talking about, so you get a good grounding.

It’s good to learn while earning your own income. Then you can do what you want with it, like if you want to buy a car – which is what I’ve done so far.

Challenges

When you first come in there are a lot of things to get to grips with, but I’ve been here for seven months or so and can be trusted with jobs. You get responsibilities given to you, which is always good. You don’t always feel like you’re just being taught – you feel like one of the team.