Thyratron Production Engineer Review

I work as a Production Engineer. Therefore I attend the morning meetings with the operators to see if there are any current problems every morning in the working week. My job is mainly communicating between Engineers and Operators. My role is to make sure that production runs smoothly and if there are any problems on the line that they are fixed as soon as possible, for example, piece part problems, build and test problems.

I have learnt many new skills whilst being in this apprenticeship. I am currently in my second year of HNC. So once this is completed i will then be going on to do my HND in Mechanical Engineering. I have also gained a PEO qualification. As well as this we have in-house training for a month before we go into our placements. This involves multiple things such as, soldering training, high voltage awareness, communication and presentation training and much more. We also go on a team building trip to Wales which is very difficult and makes you push yourself as an individual and as part of a team. Alongside this completing an NVQ as well.

I do enjoy my scheme. Sometimes the work load is hard to balance and you have stressful weeks however I'm sure that people get these at uni or other walks in life. The apprentices as a group are more like a family, everyone tries to help each other out where possible. The company has lots of potential and considering we have just been bought shows this, and that there are lots of good things to look forward to in the future.

I do feel valued in the apprenticeship as I am able to carry out tasks on my own and have ownership of these. We have an annual apprentice of the year awards evening where there are various awards given out to celebrate the things we do in the company. each year the newest apprentices sort out some form of presentation to present on the evening which means even we run the event! We also get recognition on the news and through other charity events etc that we carry out.

I believe the scheme is well structured. We all have the same induction training when we start and then all go through rotational placements. We are given a mentor at the beginning of our placements to help us if we need another form of communication and advice that isn't a manager or friend. I found this very helpful as they gave me direction on where or who to go to if I had a problem. We also get apprentice meetings every fortnight to see how we are getting on.

I'm not sure what is meant by training provider. I'm assuming it's the HNC qualification so therefore college, rather than the NVQ assessor. I don't believe that the college give much support. The teaching isn't very good and I don't feel that I have learnt much, I learn everything I know from being at work. I find that the NVQ is very hard to cross reference to the jobs I carry out as there are a lot of things on the list that I do not actually do.

I would say that I receive the right amount in regards to my placements. However because you are not allowed to do college work at work I sometimes struggle to make the most of the connections I have at work in regards to helping me with the work I am doing at college. My mentor has given me lots of support and advice in making decisions and has made me consider all options every time rather than being bias. HR work closely with the Apprenticeship scheme therefore if we have any issues we are able to speak to them as well.

Due to personal circumstances I don't believe the scheme pays very well compared to other schemes I have seen. My living costs are extremely high (rent, bills and food), also having to pay for a car and petrol to commute to college and back. I relocated for the job so therefore not living at home. I understand they are paying for qualifications so I will not have that debt but it means on a daily basis it is hard to have a good social life.

I believe there are opportunities outside of work depending if you want to take them or not. Some of the apprentices are taking part in Brathay Challenge this year. I am not due to finding college harder and I did not want to put extra stress on myself. There are also events that the IET hold that we are able to do and talks related to engineering subjects. There are lots of graduates who all live locally so some of us play badminton locally which is nice to do outside of work.

Yes

I would recommend applying here as it is a good scheme that has been running for years and there are plenty of new and exciting opportunities constantly coming up within the workplace. Your qualifications get paid for and you also get an annual salary. if you are just coming straight out of school then the wages are great. It is a good opportunity to enter the working world and build a career straight from school without needing to go to university.

You need to stand out from the rest. Why should they pick you? That is what you need to explain to them. Be quirky, and tell them what interesting projects you have been involved with at school or as extra curricular activities and all of this will build a picture of yourself. The assessment process has a few steps involved but each one as important as the other and these stages do not come as a surprise as you are told what to expect. Just relax and be yourself, do not lie on your CV as this will come to light in your interviews if you do.