Laboratory apprenticeship Review

During my Laboratory apprenticeship at GSK I will have 10 monthly rotations around 3 of the different labs here on site. On a day to day basis I will be working alongside other analysts to insure that products made on site meet certain specifications required for them to leave site and go to patients.

I developed my communication, time management and organisational skills whilst participating in this apprenticeship. I have also learnt new laboratory skills which I wouldn't have had a chance to if I went to university.

I really enjoy the apprenticeship that I am on, it allows me to still get a foundation degree whilst getting valuable work experience and had allowed me to meet lots of new people.

I feel like I am a valued employee of GSK, I am given the same work as all other analysts in the lab and good things that I do are noticed and rewarded.

The program is mostly organised, sometimes rotations can over run due to the labs being busy but in general they are well organised.

I have monthly meetings with both my manager and my mentor where I will go through the work that I have been doing in the lab and the work which I do for university. During this meeting they will help me organise my time and give me ideas of how to improve in both areas.

I receive lots of support by my employer in the aspect of that if I ever need help with something everyone in the lab is always more than happy to help wherever they can.

The salary is good compared to most apprenticeships and we get 6 monthly pay rises along with a bonus at the end of the year. GSK also pay for our foundation degree so if the cost of that is factored in then the wage is very good for an apprenticeship.

There are lots of opportunities to mentor school children, do career fairs etc outside work.

Yes

The company are a well organised professional company to work for with lots of extra benefits such as saving schemes to gain from. They are very considerate of our university work and insure that they have accommodated enough time each week for us to complete it. The amount of new people that you meet is also a big bonus to the job.

Apply for work experience within the company if possible and make sure that you are confident and stand out on the assessment day.