Apprentice Review

Advanced Apprentice, Daily tasks include duty manager some days, completing reviews of workload and other things. Getting on the job training so that I can be more useful to the team. When there is not a lot I can do, I get given smaller tasks such as equipment audits or logging alerts. I interact daily with my team and with people who are not in my team, both in terms of work and also in a friendly way. Currently waiting to get access to larger projects, but am always kept busy in mean time. If I am ever stuck for something to do, I work on coursework that I get from College.

Yes, through College I am getting qualifications relating to IT infrastructure in general as well as a few courses that are more directly relevant to the work I do. In work, I have the option to request online courses or external courses, however the external courses are more aimed towards people who are not apprentices. I have also had a chance to improve my communication skills in regards to the work place, as well as working on deadlines and other key skills. I currently have one Microsoft qualification and am working on more

In terms of the work I do, I am currently very happy with it as it is the right balance between challenging but not too hard for me at this point, as well as the fact that I find it easy to get along with my team. The company culture as a whole is excellent, most people seem to enjoy what they are doing and it feels like there is a great group atmosphere. It exceeded my expectations in terms of enjoyment and overall experience in the work place at the same time too.

At the moment, with a low work load and still in the process of training, it feels like I am valued quite well overall, but I see more appreciation directly from my manager and team as I often do the little bits of admin work that they need done and/or are too busy to do. My involvement with tasks and projects is increasing over time, which makes me feel like I am valued as if I was not I would get fewer things to do i would think.

Extremely well organised, there are multiple apprentices on site and we have a coordinator for apprentices. The college we attend for training was at first a little slow to begin but has recently picked up and been more useful and structured. We are given lots of support, and are given time dedicated to working on coursework if we ask for it. We have an active mentor system as well as all previous apprentices are happy to help even outside of the mentor program.

There are many systems in place for support, including but not limited to extra resits of exams, more course materials and revision days if requested. On the whole, they seem happy to help both in terms of extra support and even during the normal class time. I think that my training provider is pretty efficient and good at keeping track of the students and apprentices they help. I feel as though more feedback could be given however overall im pretty happy.

I have regular appraisal meetings to check how I am getting along both in the team and in college. The HR Team is well organised and ready to help with any issues. My mentor is very helpful, as well as the other previous apprentices who are not my mentor who are always happy to help. I think that my employer has my best interests at heart so i always know i can go to them if i need help or guidance with any of my work or aspects to my apprenticeship.

In terms of location and travel costs, work and college are both close to each other and close to where I live. This means that my travel costs are relatively low, and there is also a system to reclaim expenses for extra travel if required. I have enough money to comfortably live as well as fund social activities. I know other apprenticeship wages are really quite low and not appealing whatsoever but at the end of the day we have our education all funded for, which in itself saves young people such as myself thousands of pounds from university costs and such.

Yes, with work we have access to a range of employee benefits including discounts at many places. Directly tied to work, there is a lot of charity work the company is involved in and there are frequent fundraising events. I can request extra training courses if I require. I have been invited to other events outside of work however these were from various members of staff to things such as nights out, bowling, drinks and snooker etc. I have enjoyed all the events i have been too and gotten to know some guys from work a bit better and get some more friends and people i can chat to around the work site.

Yes

It is great in terms of training and support as well as being a great place to work. The apprentice scheme is also very useful and helpful towards building a career. I think that university fees are too expensive nowadays so something like an apprenticeship is ideal for someone like me, or for someone of any age really if they wanted to either get the foot in the door with their career or completely change their career lifestyle and start fresh for example. It;s a great opportunity which should not be missed.

The application process I went through was an apprenticeship scheme, so the advice I would give is to look out for any and all schemes for apprenticeships. With the scheme Training and employment are tied together and we train with apprentices from other companies regularly at college. The interviewers made every effort to reduce nervousness and the interview ended up being very enjoyable. Between the interview and hearing back from the company very little time passed, and they gave me extra time to decide if I wanted the position, as I was attending multiple interviews from different companies in a short time through the scheme.