First Year
The first year of the Advanced Apprenticeship is spent at
Europe's largest specialist engineering training centre, HMS Sultan
at Gosport. We have a unique relationship with the Royal Navy,
which means in addition to a dedicated on-site training centre we
also have access to their extensive facilities.
The programme is completely tailored to our engineering
requirements and is delivered by our training partner, VT Group.
The workshops are modern and extensively equipped, including a
range of specialist railway equipment.
So what will you be doing here? We provide a technical
foundation that will give you an excellent platform for the future.
You’ll learn fundamental engineering principles and skills. It’s a
mix of academic work as well as hands-on practical experience –
after all, you’ll be studying for an NVQ Level 2 and a BTec Level
3. Training takes place between 8.30am and 4.30pm, Monday to
Friday, and 9am to 12pm on Saturdays (except during weekend leave).
There are also occasional evening and weekend lectures and
briefings.
At the same time as completing your technical qualifications,
you’ll spend a lot of your first year developing personally too.
We'll help you understand more about living and working as part of
a team along with the skills you’ll need to help you to achieve
your ILM Level 2 and throughout your career. But you’ll also learn
just as much living here in Gosport. Many of our apprentices talk
about the confidence they’ve gained during the year and how it’s
made them more independent and more aware of the working world.