Higher Apprentice Review

I work on tasks given by my manager of my current placement. Fulfilling training courses and attending meetings. Independently coding solutions to assist in the completion of the Cross Rail C660 project. Using Visual Studio Entity Framework and Excel combined together to easily manage summaries and dashboards for the project.

I have learn new coding practices which I use daily for my Cross Rail solutions. I have learnt independent research and self teaching of new coding skills which I can apply to my work. I have been on training for the rail automation software WinCC OA and learnt how to manage my time better

I have enjoyed all my placements so far very much. My college course is engaging and very relevant to the direction I want to take my career as well as being very applicable for my current placement in the office. I enjoy learning at the college and love how I can immediately apply most of the new skills I learn there.

I really like the structure of my programme as it is very flexible and can be tailored specifically for what I am interesting in doing next. On a weekly basis the college/work balance is well organised and consistent. However the training manager is always very busy so there can sometimes be a lack of clarity in some aspects.

I can go to my line manager or mentor and ask any questions I have. They are always happy to help with any problems. There are monthly 1 to 1 meetings and mentor meetings which are very useful for asking questions and making sure every thing is going all okay.

Lectures cover most of the knowledge needed to complete assignments and pass exams however there isn't so much guidance when it comes to helping manage independent study time. Feedback from the training provider takes a long time to receive which is bad because I can't apply the feedback to future work.

In my current placement I am doing computer programming all day everyday in the office. My qualification is Computer Science which is the most relevant qualification you can do for programming. I am constantly learning new skills and ways of doing things which I can instantly apply to my office work.

There is an EDI team. Equality, Diversity, Inclusion which I am a member of. This group organises events and celebrations for world events and national / international days. I am also soon to be a STEM ambassador and will go on volunteering days outside of work to STEM events in the local area.

Yes

Siemens is a very good company which treats all their staff members very well. The work is varied and for an apprenticeship the salary is exceptionally good. Everything is done professionally with great office facilities and food. As an apprentice the work is varied with placement changes every few months.

I would recommend having at least one qualification in some sort of engineering / computer science type of area. This could be Physics, Maths, Engineering, Computer Science , any subject like those. Additionally, having work experience is a very important thing to securing a position here. Anything, paid work or volunteering... just link it somehow to how it made you a better person and how it improved your skills relevant to Siemens.