Apprentice C&I maintenance technician Review

as an apprentice Control & Instrumentation maintenance technician I am mainly shadowing technicians out on jobs on plant. I work with various parameters including pressure, level, flow and temperature and monitor and maintain various instruments related to these parameters. I also do written projects on different plant area systems to get a better understanding of plant and the effects the work i carry out can have on other interconnected systems.

During this apprenticeship i have completed my NVQ level 2 and level 3 as well as gaining BTEC qualification. I am currently working towards my HNC in measurement and control which i hope to complete by the end of this year. I had no previous maintenance experience so i have learnt a lot since i first begun this apprenticeship 3 years ago.

I enjoy the variety of the work that we can get on a day to day basis, especially when we are in shutdown maintenance conditions whereby i get the opportunity to work on equipment that i may not get to work on for another 3 years until the next maintenance period. It is a predominantly male environment to work in but i have never let this put me off integrating within the different teams i have worked. I have enjoyed the apprenticeship and even more so in my 3rd year so far because i am actually based at my home station and get to be at home every night instead of living hundreds of miles away.

As an apprentice i have felt like EDF have looked after me and ensured as well as they can the integration process is easy. I have won awards for some work that i done during this apprenticeship and this was company wide recognised which certainly makes you feel appreciated. I am regulary asked to help out at careers fayres and apprentice talks and have also been asked to assist with site tours. If you were not valued then you would not get asked to do this.

There are many different opportunities within the apprenticeship scheme to participate in different events as well as getting the extra support you require. Before we started living miles away from home 3 years ago we were flown to the academy we would be living and working at with our family members to make us a bit more comfortable with the big change. We are appointed mentors wherever we are working so that we have a support system in place for study issues.

Our technical mentors that are assigned to us on site are approachable and we can ask them for help anytime, especially to find out information for our plant area projects. Although we have mentors our fellow technicians and engineers are generally happy to help also because they have all been in our position at one stage of their careers. Personally i do get stressed out with exams but never felt like i couldn't talk to anyone to help me through it.

If we have had any issues that cannot be resolved by ourselves we can approach most people within the company. We also have occupational health advice available where necessary and they can also offer support.

My wage in my 3rd year allows me to be a little bit more comfortable than i was in 1st and 2nd year because i took quite a big pay cut to go and do this apprenticeship (change career). I have just been able to buy a new house with my husband and i only live about 15mins away from site so travel costs are kept to a minimum. I am sure though that if i had had no responsibilities and bills to pay the pay all the way through this apprenticeship is more than the average and is actually a very good wage for an apprenticeship.

Outside of work i have taken part in careers fayres to promote the apprenticeship, i have been keen on raising money for charities over the last 2 years and have raised over £5000 so far. I only work 8.30-4.30 mon-fri so i get plenty of time for outside activities such as my horse riding and dog walking.

Yes

Because they have a great apprenticeship programme and they look after their apprentices. You will not get another apprenticeship with the same opportunities as the EDF one. We get to go on 'life skills' trips during our 1st two years. I have been to Berlin, Budapest and Lyon through this apprenticeship visiting other nuclear power stations.

You need to know about the company before you apply and do a bit of research into the different generation methods we have. For instance there are 2 different types of reactor in use in the UK and you should know what one is used at the site you are applying for. You should be prepared to do some pschometric testing.