Apprentice Maintenance Technician Review

I am a Apprentice Maintenance Techncian at the EIP in Worksop. This includes attending breakdowns of machinery, planned preventative maintenance and project work. It also includes me attending AMRC Training Centre on Tuesdays. I work with 3 technicians in a shift and we interact with the majority of the factory daily as we carry out our work. I also interact with companies outside of the factory via email to enquire after parts and machinery/tools.

I have received a PMO Level 2 and a PEO Level 2 whilst at the factory. I am currently in the final year of my Level 3 BTEC Engineering Qaulifications whilst I am also completing a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Maintenance Engineering which is a NVQ. I have also completed internal training courses such as Manual Handling and Scissor Lift training. This week I will also complete a working at heights course.

I very much enjoy my day to day job as I receive great job satisfaction in solving problems. The team I work with also works very well together meaning that it is easy to work with everyone and pick up skills efficiently. As someone coming from college into a factory environment I found it easy to adapt and this was down to my work colleagues.

I feel valued by my shift and my team overall and I am verbally rewarded with praise when I complete work well. I feel like the factory doesnt reward work as much as the office at EIP which has lead to a Us and Them feeling by some people. I feel like something as simple as a breakfast voucher for workers consitantly going the extra mile would boost morale.

I feel like my there isnt as much structure to any of the other apprentinces (that I started with) careers as there is mine. Partially this is down to me actually gaining a qaulification from my training and a manager that has an interest in me doing well. Saying that I do beleive that could be improvements to be made. For example as a new starter I had limited experiance of machines and how they operate and I have had to pick up all the information myself from my colleagues and operators. I feel like it would be better to have familiarisation training when a starter first starts so they can grasp a basic understanding. My team leader offers me a great amount of support with any work that I am carrying out and I have improved massively from where I was at the start of my apprenticeship.

On tuesdays I attend Barnsley College at the AMRC and I receive the right amount of support from my tutor. I feel like sometimes the assessor that comes to the EIP doesnt offer as much as he does to the other apprentices I know at other factories. Saying that this is the only experiance I have had from the AMRC that has been anything other than good. Overall I really enjoy it.

I receive an encouraging amount of support from my Manager, Team Leader and Team. This has helped me progress at both work and college as they seem genuinly interested in my progression. Outside of my department I dont really receive much support but I have never requested it and thus don't know how good it is.

Currently my salary means that I can travel to and work in my own car and pay my bills aswell as be able to live day to day without many problems. This is only because I still live at home though. If for example I was to move out or become a father then I would need an improved salary. As I am an apprentice, I dont believe I should earn the same as my fully qaulified and experianced colleagues. However when I am fully qaulified I do beleive my salary should be around the same.

There arent really any opportunities outside of work at the EIP. None that I as an apprentice have been told about or I have seen around the factory. It just doesnt seem to be a big part of the working life at EIP so I cant really comment on the matter.

Yes

I enjoy my work quite a lot and my colleagues are great to work with as are the other workers around the factory. The pay for apprentices is quite competitive with other apprenticeships in Worksop and depending on what department you end up there is an actual career path (in the maintenace department ther is anyway).

Create a good C.V. and prepare for the interviews before hand by making prompt cards and getting someone to practice questions with you. I would also tell them to show willing and a desire to work as I believe that is what got me the job in the first place. I would like to have been told more about Cadetships as I believe I could have taken that course instead of the apprenticeship.