Cost Engineer Review

I am an apprentice Cost Engineer, my daily tasks include costing components, completing benchmarking and visiting suppliers. I interact with a lot of people throughout my department when I need to ask questions about specific processes or functions, I rarely interact with others outside of my department due to the nature of the work completed.

The first year of the apprenticeship is made up of college training in Level 4 Modules and Level 2 workshops where we learn hands on skills and more advanced theory behind engineering principles. I have attended more advanced training courses directly through my department such as a foundation plastics course which specialised in Injection Moulding.

The quality of the teaching I have received at college has not met my expectations of a large apprenticeship scheme as there are lots of issues with assignments and deadlines due to inadequate teaching. However when in plant my experiences have been a lot better and everyone is willing to provide assistance if needed. I enjoy going to work more than college.

I feel very valued internally in my department and receive regular praise from my manager and other members of my department, however externally there is little recognition of achievements and I rarely have a chance to tell others externally about the work I have been completing.

The induction was very well organised at the Ricoh Arena, however when attending college there is little organisation, lecturers are late or absent, failings to teach certain topics have led to issues with assignments being set. There is limited support that can be attended if needed and is not cooperative with the work schedules of apprentices as extra sessions can clash with the time we are in plant. However when in plant it is much more organised, I have regular meetings with managers and mentors to discuss my progress and receive new objectives.

I receive very little support from my training provider, the resources provided for extra learning are limited and sometimes non existent. If you do not understand a problem lecturers can struggle to help you solve a problem and may just waste time repeating a lecture to you rather than solving the issue. There is a bad attitude to support, lecturers give vague comments on assignment feedback and the scores do not normally match up with the comments.

I receive a large amount of support from my employer in plant and they are always willing to provide support either through meetings with management or through the HR team.

My salary covers all of my costs and allows me to save some money towards a house deposit. Through schemes such as park and ride I can catch a bus into work and save petrol which was very useful due to the length of the commute.

There are a large amount of Corporate Social Responsibility events available to attend. Due to location I do not attend many events outside of work.

Yes

I have learnt more than I would have done on a similar university course and have practical knowledge and experiences to back up my education.

When applying, provide details of experience you already have as this shows you are interested in engineering and the automotive sector.