Maintenance Engineering Apprentice Review

Maintenance engineering apprentice, Daily tasks include - any jobs which the engineering team encounter and may bring me along to teach me how it is done and to gain experience so that I may be able to complete these tasks by myself in the 3rd and 4th years of my apprenticeship. I carry out projects aimed at making or saving the company money, as well as improving working practices, and improving the safety of these practices. My role includes contacting external companies ordering parts, quotes and investigations/site visits.

Gained BTEC level 3, to complete HNC in 3rd+4th years, NVQ in engineering. Gained new skillsets in mechanical, electrical and instrumentation based disciplines, as well as working with a team.

It is fun to work with a team who all have the same goal. It isn't what i expected as I Thought it would be a very strict working environment, whereas it is actually a friendly and nice place to work. There could be more work put into planning apprentice activities as currently we sometimes sit at our desks waiting for long periods of time for a job to pop up.

Sometimes when there is a lot to do, I feel very valued as the managers treat us like a full team member who is just as capable as the employees, but other times when we have no work to do it feels a bit pointless for them to be paying me to sit there.

There could be more work put into the apprentice work program. The induction and training process was well planned out, there is an incredible amount of support available to all employees as Pfizer. I regularly have 1-2-1's with my manager and he keeps on track of performance and personal issues and I feel valued as a team member because of this.

IPS International is a poor excuse of a training provider, they will get you the qualifications, but only after making every trainee smash their heads against the wall battling failing IT systems, poor quality trainers and uncooperative management. However there are a few exceptionally helpful and understanding trainers there.

Everyone at Pfizer is willing to show support at any time, which is what makes it a great place to work.

Could be a little higher as it was a struggle for me to rent a flat with other half who is also earning less than me. However each year comes with a substantial pay rise so this situation will improve with time.

There are plenty of opportunities for us to get involved with outside activities, I have been on a volunteering trip with Kent wildlife trust and the rest of the engineering team. They run lots of programs for charity fundraisers.

Yes

It is a friendly place to work, they show you a lot of support and will help you if you struggle instead of punishing you.

Beg not to go to IPS, really. Canterbury college would be a much better choice, unless IPS gets their act together that is.