Airbus apprenticeship gets Lily off to a flying start

We are incredibly proud that 84% of our 2023 leavers have secured their first-choice university place.

For some students, however, university isn’t the natural next step. On A Level results day, we caught up with Lily Harwood who, instead of packing her bags to go to university, is looking forward to embarking on a highly competitive degree apprenticeship with Airbus.

Every year, Airbus offers a number of apprenticeships in a variety of disciplines including Business, IT and Engineering. This year, following a thorough application, interview and assessment process, Lily was delighted to secure the only place available on their Payroll Business Degree Apprenticeship.

Having always known that university wasn’t for her, Lily began researching and applying for degree apprenticeships early on in her Sixth Form career.

She said: “For me, taking the degree apprenticeship route was an easy decision.

“As I work towards my degree, I will be earning money and gaining real life experience in an internationally renowned business. I’ll even graduate at the same as many of my friends, gaining a BSc in Applied Business Management from Swansea University in three years’ time.”

Lily will work in a variety of business functions at Airbus including Payroll, Operations and HR alongside spending one day per week at college.

In addition, she will have the opportunity to spend three months in one of the company’s European centres, gaining international experience in either Toulouse, Madrid or Hamburg.

She continued: “The next three years will be full of new experiences and challenges and I can’t wait to get started!”

Head of Sixth Form, Josh Carter, congratulated Lily on her achievement, which he hopes will pave the way for more students to follow the degree apprenticeship route.

He said: “Lily wasn’t at all phased by the highly competitive application process at Airbus and she approached it with a maturity and certainty that undoubtedly helped her to secure her degree apprenticeship with them.

“I look forward to welcoming Lily back into school in the near future to share her experiences with the increasing number of students who are interested in degree apprenticeships.”