My Apprenticeship Journey – Taking on a New Challenge

Philip Carey, Senior Environmental Test Engineer at defence company Martin Baker is currently undertaking the Explosives Ordnance MSc Apprenticeship, with the three-year course being partly funded through his employer’s apprenticeship levy payments.

Surprises and support

Philip said: “Part of our work is testing propellants and rocket motors for ejection seats, and I had been looking at doing an MSc part-time to build wider technical knowledge around how these kinds of things operate. I didn’t realise apprenticeships went up to Master’s level – so that was a nice surprise.

“What’s been good about the apprenticeship route is that I’ve had more time to use the knowledge I’m gaining from the course in my role, without having to justify applying it in my day-to-day work. I’ve been able to get more involved in the higher-level parts of the company on research and development projects. It’s been a good experience.

“I’ve also had great support, not just from my employer but from my academic tutors and from Vijaya. If I’ve had any questions, they’ve always been there to help answer them. I’ve also appreciated being able to make new contacts through the course and expand my network.”

Setting expectations

“The challenges have been balancing the additional apprenticeship project work with the demands of the day-to-day job, but my company has been supportive and it’s been manageable.

“There are also a lot of administrative tasks that come with doing an apprenticeship. It feels initially like there is a lot of duplication, as you do the actual learning, examinations and coursework, and then you have to organise everything and write statements about what you learned and how it applies to different areas. At first, I found it difficult to justify taking the time on that side of things, and it was an extra workload on top of everything else, but now I’m coming towards the end of the course I can see how it is necessary to gain the end result.

“Generally, it has been a good, positive experience. There have been challenges, but nothing unexpected. I’m looking forward to finalising my studies soon and getting stuck into the thesis project.”

Philip’s advice to his peers considering undertaking a Master’s-level apprenticeship…

“Be prepared. It’s very niche; it spans a lot of disciplines covering chemistry, mechanics and general engineering. It’s got good practical applications and there is a lot of knowledge you’ll gain that’s not available elsewhere, which is really beneficial.”