Engineering Apprentice Review

I am a third year electrical engineering apprentice. I have spent the last year in several different placements throughout the business, and within these placements have been developing my skills such as fault-finding, and have spent time in the workshop learning fabrication skills. On a day to day basis I may be learning how to fault-diagnose and repair equipment, developing new ideas within different teams, or making housing for electrical circuitry.

I am constantly learning new skills, and finding out more about different types of electrical circuits. There is a lot to learn as the business is varied in the type of work it does, and each team has different types of electrical work that they focus on. I now have a better understanding of fault diagnosis work. I have been on many different courses, and increased my knowledge, some of these include the Safe Use of Industrial Gases, Practical Fire training, and Safe Use of a Gantry Crane.

I generally enjoy the programme and have learnt a lot from it. I enjoy time that is spent making items, and problem solving. The work is varied and there is a lot to learn. The different departments we spend time in are interesting, and it is rewarding to know that the work that is done can help protect people.

Dstl are very supportive towards the apprenticeship scheme, and aim to employ graduates and apprentices within their workforce. They appreciate work that is done by apprentices and are keen to go out to local schools and promote the benefits of apprenticeships. The mentors are very helpful to the apprentices and give them time and patience.

The programme is structured so that there are clear frameworks that should be followed. The three years of the apprenticeship are set out so that the first year is almost completely with our training provider. The first year there is a lot of theory work, and some exams but also learning the fundamentals of hand skills and basic electrical tasks. The next year is a split between our training provider and our core site, (3 month slots). When at our training provider there are a few hands on tasks to be completed, which then need to be written up, and more theory work and exams, and sets of knowledge questions which make up our performing in engineering folders. Then our third year is usually three month placements within different departments at Dstl sites, it is within our third year we need to gather evidence in the form of live jobs and write them up as part of our NVQ folder.

The training provider has some very good tutors. The tutors and the NVQ assessor are very knowledgeable, and they are very supportive. When they can, they will give you extra support if you ask for it. They are helpful and understanding, and patient. If you ask questions they are willing to answer them and give you different explanations to help you to understand.

My employer has been supportive and encouraged my progress throughout the apprenticeship. My employer aims to make the working environment a good place to be, and that staff are able to approach them with any difficulties. The company has many different wellbeing programmes, and has their own Occupational Health department, which can assist if there are any difficulties, or alternatively there is the HR team. Our apprentice mentors are very knowledgeable, supportive, and patient while we learn the skills they teach us.

I personally found it quite a stretch to meet my costs. The area surrounding the core site can be an expensive area to rent in. If the apprentice has to pay for their own accommodation, bills and food, and are not living at home with their parents at a reduced rate, then meeting costs can be a stretch, and implementing a relatively tight budget may be necessary to avoid going into overdrafts. The cost of public transport to the site can be costly, but there are some free buses which can be used depending on where you live. The wage is relatively good for an apprenticeship, but when you are on a low wage for three years and have bills to pay it can be difficult, but is not unmanageable. If you are asked to go to another site for a placement (other than the core site, or training provider site) then accommodation, food and travel will be provided for you.

There is a local college which runs a range of evening classes, and there are local leisure centres and a cinema, it is dependent on where you live in relation to the site, as to how accessible these are, and if the apprentice has their own car, or is reliant on public transport, as the buses in the evenings and weekend are often infrequent, and some services do not run at all, or end at 10:00pm. There is a group at work that have social events for new starters, they run trips such as paintballing. I personally can’t really afford to do activities out of work, as was living by myself, and paying for public transport to get to and from work.

Yes

The apprenticeship is a good apprenticeship, which gives the opportunity to experience different departments, and learn a range of skills. It is a good company to work for, which can be supportive, and pays their apprentices relatively well. The work they do is different to other companies, and can be very varied and interesting, and projects which you may get the opportunity to work on can genuinely help to protect and save lives.

The application process required filling in an online application, and submitting a CV. If you are successful after this first sift, you will then be invited to attend an assessment day where you will take a few short exams to test your numeracy and problem solving, and engineering understanding. If you are successful, you will then be invited for interview, and following this informed if you have been offered a place on the apprenticeship. If you are offered a job and are relocating to live in the area consider where to move that gives good access to both the training provider site and the core Dstl site. Consider if you need to rely on public transport, and what you can afford in relation to rent, travel, bills, living costs and out of work activities with the pay you are given before deciding where to move. Read up about Dstl on their website, this will give you an idea of the work that is carried out, and help you understand the range of work they cover.