Kathryn Bowley, practical apprentice at Rolls-Royce, reveals how doing an apprenticeship is never second best
“I got an offer to go to university. But it wasn’t something I wanted for myself. Going out into the business and meeting people who’ve done apprenticeships and people who’ve done degrees doing the same jobs, I’ve realised that whatever route you take, it’s possible to do the job you really want to.”
“Just like students at university, most apprentices are of similar age—and there are hundreds of us at Rolls-Royce, so we do things together—go out for lunch, or after work and do things at the weekend. You’re exposed to the same amount of new people and new things as you are at university. There’s also an apprenticeship graduate association and they run really good events.”
“Through my apprenticeship, I’ll get an A-level 3 BTEC diploma in engineering. And the chances of getting a job at Rolls-Royce are great. Most of my friends at work are former apprentices.”
“I used to think that employees who have been here for a long time wouldn’t really care about the apprentices. But actually, people love having us within their department. Because all the processes are new to us and we’re just learning about them—we question things and sometimes find new ways of working. It’s really great that people take note of what we think.”
To find out more, visit careers.rolls-royce.com
