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Ministry of Defence (MoD) DE&S apprenticeship 2017

Hi all,

I applied for the Engineering Management apprenticeship in Bristol at the beginning of February with a closing date of 13th March. I have at this time heard nothing back and my application is still under review, I just wanted to know if there was anyone else who had also applied and started the recruitment process.

I am currently at a crossroads in my career (I teach BTEC level 3 Sport at a local FE college) and have accepted a place on a MSc in Sports Science in Leeds but my enrolment on this course is dependent on the outcome of this application as engineering is my real end goal.

Thanks in advance for any info and hopefully we can create an active forum for anyone who maybe in the same position as myself.

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Original post by MT82LFC
Hi all,

I applied for the Engineering Management apprenticeship in Bristol at the beginning of February with a closing date of 13th March. I have at this time heard nothing back and my application is still under review, I just wanted to know if there was anyone else who had also applied and started the recruitment process.

I am currently at a crossroads in my career (I teach BTEC level 3 Sport at a local FE college) and have accepted a place on a MSc in Sports Science in Leeds but my enrolment on this course is dependent on the outcome of this application as engineering is my real end goal.

Thanks in advance for any info and hopefully we can create an active forum for anyone who maybe in the same position as myself.


Hey, how did you do?
I've applied for a accounting related apprenticeship with the interview this Thursday, but as expected, I'm very nervous. Got any tips if you went through? (or anyone for that matter)
Original post by TheGreat1
Hey, how did you do?
I've applied for a accounting related apprenticeship with the interview this Thursday, but as expected, I'm very nervous. Got any tips if you went through? (or anyone for that matter)


Hey i've also applied for the finance apprenticeship and I have a interview next Thursday. Im real nervous too! Have you prepared much?
Original post by laauren_jaames
Hey i've also applied for the finance apprenticeship and I have a interview next Thursday. Im real nervous too! Have you prepared much?


Hey,
I wasn't fully prepared if i'm honest, but I thought the day went well.
If you need any tips, let me know. I'll share my experiences.
Reply 4
So I have my assessment day on 12th May at Taunton. Anybody else made progress with their application?


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Hi, mine is on the 5th May. I am very much an older candidate so we'll see how it goes.

I was wondering if Taunton is just the venue for testing, or will the apprenticeship be based there? I remember reading something about them providing travel from MOD Bristol to Taunton College as part of the apprenticeship.

PS What is the salary range you can get on level 3 engineering?
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 6
I didn't expect it to be so far away from Abbey Wood, I'm relocating from Yorkshire and am very much an 'older' candidate too. Looking at possibly Monday to Friday in Bristol and weekends back here.

The salary in terms of the apprenticeship I think are around the marks of:
1st year - £14,556
2nd year - £15,578
3rd year - £18,643

Once qualified to grade D the entry salary is around the £24k mark.


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(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by TheGreat1
Hey,
I wasn't fully prepared if i'm honest, but I thought the day went well.
If you need any tips, let me know. I'll share my experiences.


Have you heard anything back from them yet? I haven't, they said we should hear by the 29th whether or not we go it. I think the interview went okay, although I wasn't prepared for some of the questions they asked. Overall I think it went well, hopefully😂
Original post by laauren_jaames
Have you heard anything back from them yet? I haven't, they said we should hear by the 29th whether or not we go it. I think the interview went okay, although I wasn't prepared for some of the questions they asked. Overall I think it went well, hopefully😂


Hey,
Same for me, 29th March. Going to be a nervous wait now.
what questions did they ask?
Original post by TheGreat1
Hey,
Same for me, 29th March. Going to be a nervous wait now.


Have you heard from the yet I haven't heard from them?
Original post by Coolcat567
Have you heard from the yet I haven't heard from them?



Are you able to give me any feedback on the style of questions on the exam are they multiple choice? Also what difficulty level are they?

Thanks.
Have any of you heard from the finance apprenticeship? I know they said the 28/29th but haven't heard from them yet.
Original post by Tparker98
Have any of you heard from the finance apprenticeship? I know they said the 28/29th but haven't heard from them yet.


Hey, noo:frown: I haven't heard anything yet either, I've litterally just sent them a email, so hopefully they reply, really want to know!
Afternoon all. Hope the Plymouth applicants have had some good luck lately and that the Abbeywood (ABW) applicants have plenty in the coming month or so.

If anyone has any questions about the Engineering Apprenticeship I'm happy to try and answer or help with them. I'm a current Engineering Apprentice with DE&S. One of the great unwashed :P
Reply 15
Original post by Grim_Squeaker
Afternoon all. Hope the Plymouth applicants have had some good luck lately and that the Abbeywood (ABW) applicants have plenty in the coming month or so.

If anyone has any questions about the Engineering Apprenticeship I'm happy to try and answer or help with them. I'm a current Engineering Apprentice with DE&S. One of the great unwashed :P


Good to meet you buddy, what are your experiences so far? Any information would be very much appreciated.

Thanks


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Original post by MT82LFC
Good to meet you buddy, what are your experiences so far? Any information would be very much appreciated.

Thanks


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It's been great so far on the whole. Some of the academic aspects are done in an accelerated timescale compared to normal (L3 BTEC in 8 months for example in the case of Plymouth) so that can be a bit stressful but the practical experience in Placement has been brilliant. There is definitely an emphasis put on giving you enough freedom to develop, meet your training requirements and learn.... but also enough rope to hang yourself with. This might sound a bit daunting but what I mean mainly is that you are treated like adults and you get out what you put in with regards to effort, committment and self-management.

I've found that in my own placement experience I was treated like a member of the team, not an apprentice but that they also understood I was there to learn rather than coming in as any sort of expert. The support from the apprentice management group has generally been good given the varied backgrounds of the apprentices, different age groups and the scale of the programme. The best way to think of the job, should you get offered and accept, is that of it being a 3 year job interview that works both ways. We are looking at you and your potential for a career with the MoD..... and you are doing the same back to see if the MoD is right for you after the 3 years or if your next step after the apprenticeship lies elsewhere :smile:

Probably not doing the best job of explaining myself, but if you folks have any specific questions I'll do my best.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Grim_Squeaker
It's been great so far on the whole. Some of the academic aspects are done in an accelerated timescale compared to normal (L3 BTEC in 8 months for example in the case of Plymouth) so that can be a bit stressful but the practical experience in Placement has been brilliant. There is definitely an emphasis put on giving you enough freedom to develop, meet your training requirements and learn.... but also enough rope to hang yourself with. This might sound a bit daunting but what I mean mainly is that you are treated like adults and you get out what you put in with regards to effort, committment and self-management.

I've found that in my own placement experience I was treated like a member of the team, not an apprentice but that they also understood I was there to learn rather than coming in as any sort of expert. The support from the apprentice management group has generally been good given the varied backgrounds of the apprentices, different age groups and the scale of the programme. The best way to think of the job, should you get offered and accept, is that of it being a 3 year job interview that works both ways. We are looking at you and your potential for a career with the MoD..... and you are doing the same back to see if the MoD is right for you after the 3 years or if your next step after the apprenticeship lies elsewhere :smile:

Probably not doing the best job of explaining myself, but if you folks have any specific questions I'll do my best.


Thats very informative. Do you mind telling me what city you're based in and how many older apprentices there are?

I think I fluffed the assessment centre though.
I thought that too. I sat on the train from Plymouth convinced I wasn't going further. Felt my scores were too average to get a recall for interview.

Yet here I am. There are a few older folks on the scheme at both Abbeywood and Devonport, including myself. I have gound it helpful on the whole as my life experience and maturity have been a bonus in my placement. Took some time to get used to being around school/college leavers but it's all good.
Reply 19
So, if I am successful I may have to look at staying in Bristol Monday to Friday and travelling home at the weekends.

What is the structure like in the first year in terms of working patterns, expectations etc?


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