Apprentice Planner Review

I am an apprentice planner, I work within the analytical team and support their projects. I do this by interacting with the responsible people and managing the schedules through updating existing schedules and creating new ones, once I have done this I then pull reports and other information that is requested and send these onto who has asked for them. We have a weekly routine that we tend to keep to due to certain information being needed at specific times during the week, however other jobs are done and kept on top of in between this.

I am currently studying mechanical engineering at Gen2 and am also completing a Level 3 NVQ in project controls. I also attend regular project controls workshops which are helpful when it comes to my NVQ. My NVQ is helping me to understand these different aspects of project controls and not just planning, it is also helping me to progress with my personal skills.

I thoroughly enjoy being at work, I work in an very engaging and helpful environment where I am never far from support when it comes to both work and study materials. The team that I work with were/are very inviting and friendly when I first joined and continue to be to this day. I also enjoy learning while on the job as it helps me to put thing into context easier and I can also ask any of my colleagues for support if I don't quite understand something.

I definitely feel valued within my team, there are always comments and emails sent back to me whenever I send something out. I try to involve myself in as much as possible and my team very much welcome this behaviour and they help and encourage me wherever they can

Within my workplace I am pleased with the structure. The induction was easy to follow, it was made very clear what training I would be doing, I am given time within work to seek help when it comes to my studying and if I need any help above what my team can give me then I am able to easily set up a meeting with my line manager. Meetings about my progress are also set up quarterly and I am able to express any of my concerns to my reviewer who is very understanding and helpful. However one aspect of one of my regular training workshops is that the timetable has been revised 3 times and this has resulted in some people having to miss these sessions due to other commitments.

I have found that I am able to ask for support from all aspects of my apprenticeship, the team I work with are always around to support me, the tutors in Gen2 are also always willing to help, and my mentor at work is also very helpful whenever I have any questions.

Whenever I have had any questions I have very easily been able to find and get in touch with the appropriate people to assist me with my questions and issues. They have all been able to respond quickly and with supporting guidance.

For my age group I feel like my wage is average, I generally am able to support myself with it. However it does limit some of my options which I have had to push back into the future.

There is generally an event on every month with the YPN (Young Persons Network). These can vary between a social gathering, to volunteering at career fairs for school children, partaking in sporting and leisure events and more. It is very easy to opt into these events as all it takes is an email and you generally get quite a fast response.

Yes

It is a great working environment and is very supportive

Take all opportunities you are given as although they may not seem relevant at the time they can fill you with knowledge that will more than likely be useful in the future. Be confident when going through the formal processes and speak up when you have any questions.