Technical Apprentice Review

Day to day varies a fair bit but in general my time is split 50% in the office and 50% on sites. In the office I will usually be working on project documentation and software. Things such as Factory Acceptance Documents, Site Acceptance Documents, Device Lists, Drawings and more. I will also create display screens for projects, programs and databases in software. It really depends on what type of project you are working on, but there are always people in the office who can help and there is always engineers on the project I am working who can help. On site work for me is more interesting as its more hands on with equipment. Generally, I will go on site to commission the equipment which is part of the project. For me this means setting up devices to communicate, testing operation such as opening and closing breakers and making sure it all goes back to our software which will display breaker states, meter readings and more on a server which the customers can remotely monitor. This is also the time when we will complete the Site Acceptance Documents prepared in the office. Overall the daily tasks and responsibilities grow as you learn more, once you are confident with doing something, you will be allowed to do it independently.

I got to learn and significantly improve a lot of skills over the apprenticeship. All the standard stuff like teamwork, communication improves as you work with others on projects and comes naturally. Teamwork especially improves when you are on site and working as a team to finish the project. Other skills such as PLC Programming, CAD, Company specific software and much more are also acquired and improved. For me the biggest skill I have improved is problem solving as this is the main skill we use. Projects will pose problems and we are tasked with solving them, most often on site we will face problems with devices not working and we must work in a logical way to solve the issue.

Overall the programme is pretty good, there have been very few things that I didn't like. The company is more than happy to let you learn what you find interesting and they are very accommodating if you have any issues. It is however still work and sometimes you may get given tasks which are a bit tedious, or you simply don't like doing.

The programme changes depending on when you started, but my programme was fairly well laid out from the start and I knew what to expect generally. This means I did plenty of relevant training courses to get me more familiar with what I will be doing and plenty of Health and Safety training for my specific area of work.

My manager is really good with supporting me and my career. They make sure that I get the training I need and are happy to support me if I want to do some extra training or learning. The same applies for studying, if I need extra time off for revision they always make it work. The company also provides dedicated days for exams and days in uni/college.

Again this changes depending on what year you stated in as there's about 4 or 5 different providers the company uses while trying to find the best one. My provider was initially pretty poor at providing support and only significantly improved in the last year of study.

The qualification is generally useful since its in engineering but its not specific enough to help most people in their roles every day. It teaches you general engineering principles, software and skills. There is plenty of reports and exams. Some subjects I had were Electrical Machines, Analogue Electronics, Industrial Engineering, Robotics, Building Systems, Materials and Control Systems. But in the end its still a degree in engineering so will be useful.

This depends on the team and location you are in, but in general there are plenty of opportunities to attend events and activities. There are also company apprentice groups and similar.

Yes

Overall its still a good opportunity and the company is so big that most people can find something they would like to work on.

Apprentice roles dont really have any requirements bar GCSEs or A Levels. The main thing that the company wants to see is that you are keen to learn and will work well as part of the team and wider company. Its also good to know what the company does, or at least the part of the company you are applying for, so you can tell the interviewers why you are the right person for the job.